The Greatest Gift
by Zed-Azrael
Summary: The Shikon Jewel will give its destined master, Inuyasha, the power to save a great people when he's mature. Sesshomaru's grudge tires Inupapa. The dog demons are becoming extinct, and he wants his grandkids ASAP SesshomaruInuyasha INUCEST yaoi mm mpreg
1. Inheritance

**xXx**

'_How sad is it that we, the greatest clan of demons to ever exist, are on the verge of extinction? We, who were feared throughout the land by mortals and youkai alike, are so few in number that it is disgusting. We number two. Two-and-a-half, if you count my disgraceful excuse for a half-brother._

_'That brother of mine… He is the taint on our otherwise honourable family legacy. To imagine, the greatest sin of my father will linger on for eons. It nauseates me. His demon blood, unfortunately, will eventually override his human blood in most respects once he matures. He will be around as long as I will. And forever is a very long time to coexist with your most hated person._

_'I wish to be rid of him. Each day, he insults my name merely with his existence. That filthy hanyou. I have asked Father time and again that I may have permission to end my brother's meagre existence. All requests have been put down. No excuses. Father continues to hide him and that wench of a mother from me. Many years have passed since the birth of my brother. His mother must have died long ago. Humans are so fragile._

_'I cannot understand Father's compassion for the half-breed and the human. I cannot fathom why Father, the notorious and renown Inu no Taishou, lowered himself to the level of a mere mortal, allowing himself to be enraptured in such a lowly feeling such as love. What's more, Father, the ignorant fool, expected me to accept the hanyou and welcome him into life. I think I expressed my displeasure and malcontent with that wish on the night of the hanyou's birth. I walked away from my injured father, leaving him to rescue both the pup and the woman alone._

_'Father was never very good at relationships. His with my other parent is a beautifully articulate example. He destroyed two relationships that were critical to the clan's survival on that one night alone. Both my relationship with him, and his mate's, with whom he was supposed to remain faithful to for all eternity, were shattered that night. My family, ironically, has the only two people with whom I would love to rid the face of the earth of._

_'We are always in danger of death. Demons live hard lives. We cannot simply recline and live lives of luxury and ease, like humans. We crave danger and excitement. This is probably why demons are steadily vanishing as the human-vermin become more advanced. Nobody likes to share._

_'Perhaps that is why I detest Inuyasha so much. He is on the receiving end of all of Father's love and devotion, whereas I have been shunned. Father wants me to give up to my fate and seek to mend bonds with both him and Inuyasha. I told him rather icily to make amends with his mate, first. Father, ever the cheerful bastard, laughed and told me I have no choice._

_'Sadly, he is correct. We who were once the most prosperous demon clan in existence number two-and-a-half. We need the purest heir we can get, and Father has ironically gained a beautiful sense of morals, and deters from getting into any more relationships akin to that which he had possessed with his mate and with Izayoi-hime. He always gives me that disgustingly saintly smile and says that Inuyasha and I are the only hope for the future generation._

_'"He will have the power to save a great people." That is what Father had said. "Yet, he cannot do so alone, Sesshoumaru. Choose your allies carefully."_

_'Is this Sesshoumaru so pathetic that he gets beaten by a mere hanyou infant who has done nothing? How am I supposed to work with him to save our people if we cannot even work together long enough to save each other from ourselves?'_

**xXx**

**The Greatest Gift**

**xXx**

First Shard: Inheritance

**xXx**

It had been raining harshly that night, the normally firm earth had been reduced to loose mud and the once-thought hardy roofs of the village huts were making a point of demonstrating their inadequacy.

The torches that lined the dirt roads had been extinguished long ago, cloaking the land in a heavy darkness until the lightning would flash and bathe the village in harsh light for the most fleeting second before promptly returning to darkness.

All in all, it was hardly a good night for sleep, in young Kaede's opinion, at least. The young girl had herself buried in a pile of thin blankets and kimonos, shielding her eyes from the terrifying bolts of lightning. Nonetheless, all her attempts at salvation were in vain. No amount of compulsive mantras or prayers or cloth in her ears would effectively protect herself from the ominous cracks of thunder.

She trembled in her makeshift bed, wishing that her older sister, Kikyou, was not preoccupying herself with maintaining the general order and was, instead, more concerned with her sister's emotional distress.

Sadly, such was not so.

Kikyou sat stiffly on the porch of their home, positively chilled to the bone from the rain, but still diligently maintaining her post as she oversaw the soggy village.

Under normal circumstances, the miko would not have been required to keep a sharp eye out over her village during a storm. But times and situations were not the same as they were in the not-too-distant past.

About one-hundred fifty years ago, long before Kikyou's time, a young woman, a lady of noble blood, had journeyed to the village carrying a small child with the softest white hair imaginable. She had presented the village's current miko of the time, an ancestor of Kikyou's, no less, with a strange object. A jewel.

"Keep it safe," she had said. "For many of impure intentions shall yearn to have it." The strange infant had released a mournful wail in agreement, and the woman had gently rocked him to sleep, crooning odd lullabies in the soft, downy inhuman ears that were perched on top of the child's white head.

The woman knew the miko knew, but explained nevertheless.

"My child is a hanyou, a half-demon," she said. "He was born on the new moon naught but a dozen days ago. And when the umbilical cord was cut, this jewel did emerge from our flesh. I know not what it is nor what it can do, only what I have been told by the great spirit I envisioned on the night of my son's birth.

"The spirit told me of the jewel's great strength, that it was sacred, and that it held immense power, and would supply its owner with such. He spoke of how this Shikon Jewel was meant to save a great people, and of how it will bestow upon its rightful owner the greatest gift of all," she had recalled wistfully. "This Shikon Jewel was meant for my son," she said. "But he is far from ready to receive it.

"Keep it safe," she said again. "Keep it hidden and safe beneath your watchful eye, miko, for my son will one day return to claim it. Protect it from those of ill intentions and black hearts of malice and greed. The jewel must be purified, and only my son holds the key that allows him to be able to do so."

She then had daintily pressed it into the hands of the miko, entrusting her and her bloodline with the greatest responsibility and legacy they could have ever been given.

Kikyou, as the successor to that legacy, held the same burden as her ancestors did generations ago. And she intended on keeping the Shikon Jewel as safe as those before her. It was no easy task, either. Many a powerful demon had sensed the jewel during its stay in the village and had come with the desire of taking it for himself or herself. Every attempt over the past one-hundred fifty years had been thwarted, and Kikyou's powerful line of mikos had yet to drain in its wells of talent. Rather, they were more concerned with whether the young hanyou son of the woman would ever return to claim the jewel as its rightful owner.

For understandable reasons, their hope of seeing to the boy's return was beginning to dwindle. Kaede and Kikyou refused to take these details negatively. The two did not want to believe that their clan's duty was all in vain. Kikyou constantly found herself not only reminding Kaede, but herself, as well, that those of demonic heritage aged considerably slower than that of human blood. However, she would realise on miserable days that even that river of excuses was beginning to dry. Demon blood or not, there was no denying that the hanyou would have been fairly mature and ready to relieve both her family and her village of the jewel.

If he ever did decide to return, that is.

Thoughts like that made Kikyou sad. And the dreary weather only served to further dampen her spirits. She straightened her posture and focused all her strength into scouting the village perimeters psychically.

Though there always needed to be at least one person scouting the village psychically at night-time, it was especially necessary that Kikyou would do her share of look out during storms. This was because the record showed that many lesser demons often liked to make strategic attempts at stealing the jewel beneath the layered cloak of darkness, rain, and thunder. Of course, there was always the occasional attack by some kind of thunder demon.

Keeping such a peeled, inner-eye open often exhausted Kikyou, but her effort was never in vain. The village people would always awaken safely the following day.

Kikyou breathed in deeply, trying to sense as wide a radius around the village as possible. It was a small village tucked neatly in between the hills and the forest. An easy area to cover without too much exertion; even with the dense multitude of life in the forest, Kikyou was easily capable of picking out a demonic aura without so much as batting an eyelash. Tonight, there were no such auras riddled with ill intent; in fact, the whole mile radius around her seemed perfectly safe. She closed her eyes in relief. There was not a single disturbance in the air.

_'Wait…'_ She opened her eyes slowly, the hands that were folded daintily in her lap fidgeted slightly, reaching for the bow and arrows that lay beside her. She pursed her lips together, focusing solely on this one anomaly.

One of her armed militia noticed her tense and looked up at her from his post curiously. "Kikyou-sama," he said uncertainly, debating on whether to approach the miko or not. "Kikyou-sama," he said again. "Is everything all right?"

Kikyou glanced at the man carelessly and elegantly rose to her feet, sweeping the bow and its quiver off the ground.

"Not quite," she said flatly. "There is someone – or something – lingering on the western outskirts of the village. Near the forest of the sacred tree," she explained.

"A demon?" An understandable question.

Kikyou frowned slightly, unsure of how to accurately describe the essence of the person she had been sensing.

"They feel demonic," she replied truthfully. "However, there is no denying that the presence is that of a human."

"Are they here to steal the Shikon Jewel?"

Kikyou's brow creased. "I do not think so," she murmured. She blinked, dropping her weapons, eyes wide. She quickly made off the porch and hurried to the western side o the village. "He is hurt."

When Kikyou and five of the militia found the poor boy, he was groggy as hell and passing in and out of consciousness.

"What happened to him, Kikyou-sama?" one of the men asked, gazing at the deep wounds adorning the boy's body in awe. Blood was making a steady stream down from the large gash in his side. He had already roughly bandaged it by removing his haori and messily tied it in place to help clot the blood, though the cloth was to no avail. The wound was probably poisoned.

The boy's left arm was obviously broken as well; one of the bones had broken through his skin, making his arm even more of a mangled mess. His skin was littered with cuts and bruises, as well. The blood had made his long inky-black hair sticky and matted. His breaths were shallow and haggard as he fought to keep his glazed, dark eyes open.

Kikyou watched the pitiful boy with a feeling akin to maternal concern. He really was a sad sight, broken and bloody and leaning against the sacred tree of the forest for support.

"He must have been attacked by a demon," Kikyou said logically, moving to help the boy. He had nearly collapsed against her in his attempt to support his own weight. Kikyou staggered as he leaned heavily on her; she jerked her head in such a way that the militia understood that she required assistance.

The boy allowed himself to all but be carried back and to be gently laid on a futon in Kikyou's house while she and Kaede tended to his wounds and began the painful process of re-aligning the bones in his arm and running enough blood from his side to cleanse his body of the poison.

Kikyou eyed his passive expression with wonder. He had been brutally wounded, and all he was doing was staring out at the clearing storm, gazing mournfully at the moonless sky.

He was young, she noted. Very young. He looked hardly past his sixteenth winter. He looked even smaller surrounded by blankets and propped up into a sitting position by pillows.

They had just put the finishing touches on his bandages when a quiet voice made Kaede jump in surprise.

"Thanks."

Kaede blinked curiously at the boy. He was the one that had spoken, right?

Kikyou, looking quite unperturbed, simply nodded and glided back to her post.

Kaede looked at the boy's features carefully. He looked like he was asleep. She tentatively stretched a hand forward and lifted one of his eyelids. The boy let out an annoyed huff and snapped both his eyes on the eight year old.

"What?" he asked irritably. Eyeing her caustically, the boy wrinkled his nose. "What're you looking at, brat?"

Kaede flushed under the scrutinizing glare. "I'm sorry!" she bowed her head hastily. "That was most impolite of me, and I–"

"Shut up and tell me your name," he interrupted with a sigh.

Kaede blinked. "I'm Kaede," she said dumbly.

"And who was that wench with you earlier?"

Kaede frowned. "Be respectful!" she whined petulantly.

"Sure. Like yanking on my eyelid is respectful…"

"Hey! I already apologised–"

"Name?"

"Her name is Kikyou. She's my big sister, and she is not a wench," Kaede said sourly. "She's the miko of this village and the keeper of the Shikon Jewel."

The boy looked interested. "Shikon Jewel?"

"Yeah," Kaede replied with a nod. "It's this jewel-thingy that's been guarded by our clan for one-and-a-half centuries. It's useless to humans, but it has a lot of power for demons, or something, because demons are always trying to steal it, and it's really annoying and–"

"Kid, you're really annoying," the boy said with a smirk.

Kaede pouted. "So are you," she said with a huff.

The boy laughed at this; his was a pleasant laugh. Warm and contagious. Kaede could not help but smile.

"Inuyasha," the boy suddenly said.

Kaede tilted her head to the side, not quite understanding. "What was that, mister?"

"It's my name, dummy. And don't call me 'mister.' That makes me sound old. It's 'Inuyasha.' Not 'Inuyasha-kun,' '-san,' '-chan,' and it sure as hell isn't '-jiichan.' It's just 'Inuyasha.' That is," a wicked grin spread across his face. "Unless, of course, you want to call me 'Inuyasha-sama.' That, I'll accept."

Kaede mercilessly bonked him on the head. "I like the sound of 'Inuyasha no baka.'"

Inuyasha clutched his head with his good arm, practically spitting fire at the young girl. "You brat!" he growled. "What the hell was that for?! What kind of a host inflicts damage on an already wounded patient?!"

Kaede gave him a disinterested look before smiling slightly. It was difficult to see, but she was sure that somewhere beneath Inuyasha's mask of anger, she could see him smiling. Or, at least she hoped that was so. Otherwise she'd be in for quite a pummelling when he was healed.

"How about 'Inuyasha-niichan?'"

Inuyasha lowered his hand from his head and cracked a toothy grin. "That's fine with me, brat," he said. "'Cause now that you're my little sister, you'll have to listen to and respect me!" he exclaimed with a triumphant bark of laughter.

Kaede rolled her eyes as she stood up. "Go to sleep, Inuyasha-niichan," she said. "You've gotta heal quickly, 'cause you look pretty pathetic with all those bandages. Like a mummy. And if you keep with all your weak attempts at movement, you're gonna rip your stitches out." She waved at him over her shoulder as she walked away.

Inuyasha fumed. "You brat! Just you wait! Tomorrow, I'm gonna kick your sorry ass!"

Kaede just laughed as she closed the screen door between their rooms.

**xXx**

Kaede woke up at dawn, as was her internal schedule. She tiptoed around Kikyou's sleeping form, her sister having only retired to a day of sleep but an hour ago. She briskly pulled open the door to the porch, pulled on her sandals, and made her daily journey to the well in the woods. She would need more water today, so that she and Kikyou could clean Inuyasha's wounds. She skipped along the dirt path as best as she could. The earth had dried slightly, but not nearly enough to keep her feet from getting stuck in the mud with each step.

The empty bucket slapped against the backs of her legs as she trotted into the woods. Kaede's eyes lit up when she saw the wooden box-shaped well. She hurried over and secured the rope on the bucket handle and tossed the bucket in, listening eagerly for the bubbling _'splash!'_ the bucket always made when it hit the water. She frowned when a very different sound met her ears. _'Clomp!'_

Kaede furrowed her brow in confusion as she stood on her tiptoes to peer into the well. Her eyes widened when she looked inside the normally deep well, only to find that it was completely dry. She blinked stupidly, thoroughly confused as she pulled the empty bucket back up. Her gaze flickered from the bucket, to the dry well, and back to the bucket. Feeling confused as to how a well could completely evaporate during a thunderstorm, Kaede was left with few options other than to go to the nearby river and get the water from there. A few of the other villagers were already at the river, and nodded their greetings. Kaede quickly filled the bucket, deciding that using running water to fill a bucket was far more easy and efficient than dumping the bucket in stagnant water with the hope of the bucket gaining its fill. She pouted as she walked back home slowly, careful not to spill the water as she moved. _'If only Kikyou-oneesama wasn't so particular about us getting holy water,'_ she thought petulantly.

She kicked off her muddy sandals on the porch and staggered beneath the bucket as she shifted its weight to one arm so she could pull open the screen door. She, like before, tried to tiptoe around Kikyou as best she could so she could get access to Inuyasha's room, which was, in reality, just a small area of the one-roomed house they'd set off for the young man.

"Inuyasha-niichan," she called softly, trying to adjust the heavy weight of the full bucket, her knees buckling. "Nii-chan, I have to clean your wounds and change your bandages." She began nudging the screen open with her toes. When it had been opened wide enough for her to stick her entire foot in, she slid it open with ease. "Inuyasha-niichan! I've brought the water!" She said cheerily, her eyes closed as she sang her news. "You know it was the weirdest thing. The well was completely dried up! I had to double back and go to the river to get water." She opened her eyes expectantly, awaiting his thoughts on the matter. Her mouth dropped open in shock, because the young man who had frozen upon her entrance into the room was certainly not the dark haired boy she had met the night before.

It was a silver-haired demon.

The demon blinked his bright golden eyes, his eyebrows raised. He had been stretching out his sore limbs when Kaede had walked in. The girl had looked rather energetic upon entry. When she opened her eyes and had actually gotten a good look at him (he was positive she'd done a double-take), her expression had melted into utmost horror.

"Oh god…" Kaede whispered, dropping the bucket, the cool water pooling around her bare feet as she stared at the demon in terror. Her dark eyes were wide with fear. "W-what happened to Inuyasha-niichan?" she stuttered, her small form trembling as she took a step back.

The demon quickly raised his hands and waved them frantically, trying to calm the scared child. "N-no!" he exclaimed. "It's okay! Kaede, I–"

"What'd you do to Inuyasha-niichan?!" Kaede bellowed as she stomped forward and punched the demon square in the eye. "You better not have eaten him!" she shrieked, effectively knocking him over onto the futon and yanking the demon's shirt open and plainly ignored the profusion of bloodied cloth bandages adorning his stomach. She pressed her ear against his flat stomach, listening intently.

"What the hell are you doing, brat?!" the demon shouted incredulously, visibly wincing as she put pressure on his injured stomach. He pushed her off his aching form with a groan. The little girl fixed him with a poisonous glare.

"You ate him, didn't you?! Damn you! Don't eat my friends!" Kaede cried while digging her hands in her obi and pulling out a beaded necklace and quickly forming hand seals; the necklace glowed a violent shade of purple as the beads rapidly disconnected from the string and reformed around the demon's neck. "SIT!" she screeched.

"Wait! Wait! OUCH!! MOTHERFU—!! Let me explain, goddammit!" the demon yelled angrily as his body unwillingly slammed itself (none too gently) into the hard wooden floor of the house. "_Woman!_ Lemme talk, for god's sake! I'm a half-demon, and I–"

"Why would you eat Inuyasha-niichan?! What'd he do to you?! That's so dishonourable! He couldn't defend himself against a full demon! Not in his condition!" She pushed the demon onto his back and yelled at his stomach. "Inuyasha!" she shouted, "I'm gonna rescue you! Don't panic!"

"What the _hell_ are you doing?!" the demon roared in protest, his clawed hands yanking at the magic beads adorning his neck. "You idiot! _I'm Inuyasha!_"

Kaede pounced on his head, yanking forcefully on the demon's odd, puppy-dog ears. "LIAR!" she cried. "Throw Inu-niichan up! Throw up! Throw up!" she shrieked.

"OW! DAMMIT, WOMAN! _LET GO!!_"

"Not until you throw him up!"

"…Kaede?"

Kaede froze in the middle of her vicious onslaught on the friend-eating demon long enough to see the confused expression adorning her older sister's sleep-ridden eyes.

Kikyou blinked at the two, not comprehending what had just happened. Her eyes took in the odd scene of her little, eight year old sister beating the life out a very aggravated looking dog demon. "Kaede," she said again, choosing her words carefully. "What are you doing…?"

"He _ate_ Inuyasha-niichan!" Kaede whined tearfully, tugging a little harder on the demon's ears and ignoring his pained complaints.

Kikyou eyed the demon inquisitively. "Who is Inuyasha?" she asked.

"_I am!_" the demon shouted, golden eyes flashing with aggravation.

"_Liar!_ Inuyasha-niichan is human!"

"_I told you!_ I'm _half-demon!_"

"_Liar!_"

"Tell your delusional sister to get her scrawny ass off me!" he yelled. "And what the hell is with this necklace, damn it?!"

Kikyou quickly rushed to the demon's side and hoisted Kaede off his back, ignoring her girlish screams of protest. With the girl off his back, the demon rolled back into a sitting position, golden eyes glaring sulkily at Kaede.

"Thank god you got the kid off me," he said, massaging his abused ears with a wince. "I don't think I could have lasted another second–" he blinked in confusion at the notched arrow pointing at his heart. Kikyou's eyes were stony.

"Who are you?" she asked sharply.

"I'm Inuyasha," he said again with a sigh as he lazily pushed Kikyou's bow and arrow out of the way, not even bothering to wonder where the miko had drawn the weapon from. "You guys picked me off the edge of the village last night. Bandaged me up and put me to bed." He raised an eyebrow at Kaede. "Spoke about how yanking on the eyelids of people is not polite." He allowed a small grin of satisfaction as the recognition dawned on Kaede. "Remember me now?"

Kikyou lowered her bow and removed the arrow, taking Kaede's reaction as a guarantee that this was indeed her sister's 'Inuyasha.'

Kaede furrowed her brow as she stared at Inuyasha's face in a scrutinizing fashion. "I…don't understand," she said finally. "How did you turn into a demon?"

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "I was always a demon," he replied, slumping back onto his futon and lying on his back with his hands crossed behind his head.

Kikyou frowned. "That can't be," she said softly. "I did not sense that you were a demon. You were human. You possessed a demonic taint in your aura, but you were most definitely human."

Inuyasha sighed tiredly. "I already told you, I'm half demon."

"I don't get it, Inuyasha-niichan," Kaede whined. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"If you'd have let me explain before you started attacking me, maybe you'd understand…" Inuyasha muttered beneath his breath. He sat up again and stared Kikyou straight in the eye. "We hanyous don't like people knowing, but every month, we lose our demon forms and are reduced to being humans for one night," he said seriously. "From sun down to sun up, we are stripped of our enhanced senses and powers." He allowed a sly smirk. "We become weaklings."

Kaede clapped her hands in understanding. "I get it!" she exclaimed, looking proud of herself. "Last night, the night of the new moon, was the night you change into a human! And now that it is daytime, you're a demon again."

Inuyasha smiled. "Not bad, brat," he praised. He turned his golden gaze back on Kikyou, all joking aside. "Kaede told me that the Shikon Jewel was being kept here, and that you were its guardian."

"That is correct," Kikyou answered, eyes narrowing slightly. _'Is he one who desires its power?'_ she wondered anxiously, hands tightening on her bow.

Inuyasha's eyes clouded over. "How interesting," he mused. He sighed heavily. "It was brought here one-hundred fifty years ago by a woman carrying a hanyou infant, right?" he inquired tiredly, looking at Kaede through half-lidded golden eyes.

Kaede nodded. "Our ancestor was told to protect it until the hanyou was mature enough to come back to relieve us of it."

Inuyasha's eyes widened slightly. "What's supposed to happen then?"

Kaede shrugged. "Nobody really knows," she admitted. "The rightful owner is to purify it. Our family plays no part other than to hold onto it until he returns."

"I see," Inuyasha frowned thoughtfully, and then stood up. "All right, then," he said energetically. "Fork over the jewel so I can get the hell out of here."

Kikyou blinked, not too surprised. "You want the jewel for yourself? To serve what purpose?"

Inuyasha let out an exaggerated sigh. "I'm supposed to take it, right? My mom is the one came here to drop it off."

"I realise that," Kikyou muttered, quieting her aggravation. "However, what will you do with the jewel?"

Inuyasha's serious expression transformed into one of absolute confusion. "I really don't know," he said flatly. "Mom never told me. Said she didn't know too much about it herself. She just told me to come and get it when I was 'mature enough.'" He clearly didn't think much of his maturity, seeing as how he had accentuated his words with bunny fingers. "Keh, like I know when I'm mature." He stood up gracefully. "So, give me the damn jewel." He held out his broken arm expectantly, earning an amazed look from Kaede. His injuries had already healed.

Kikyou stared at him carefully, looking for a thread of deceit in his smouldering eyes. "Very well," she said at last, leading him out of the house and toward the shrine.

Kaede followed behind Inuyasha, looking at him curiously. He was getting a lot of odd stares and hushed comments from the villagers they passed, but he paid them no heed. Kaede wondered idly if he was perhaps used to such observation. She hoped not. Some of the villagers' whispers were less than complimentary.

Kikyou lead them into the shrine and gestured lazily at the jewel that hung on a simple necklace. "The Shikon Jewel," she said.

"This is the legendary Shikon Jewel?" Inuyasha asked incredulously, gawking at the round translucent gem. "What the hell is so special about it?! It looks like a fucking marble!"

Kaede giggled.

Kikyou frowned disapprovingly at him. "It pulses with more power than any demon I have ever seen," she said dryly. "Its purpose is not to be a shining bauble to present to some woman. It is in its ability to give power to demons." She watched the hanyou poke the jewel with a claw, obviously not listening to her. She sighed. He was like one of the village children. She doubted this is what his mother had in mind when she told him to return when he was 'mature.'

"Take it, then," Kikyou said finally, growing weary of Inuyasha's antics. "If you really are its rightful owner, and there is no doubt about that, then you should be able to purify it upon contact."

Inuyasha pursed his lips thoughtfully. "How will we know if it's been purified?" he asked. "Will it get absorbed into my skin or something?" he looked uneasy at the idea of the jewel (it really was more of a shiny rock, in his opinion) becoming a part of him.

"It may get absorbed," Kikyou replied. "We don't really know what will happen."

"What kind of keepers don't even know bull about the item they're guarding?!"

"I'll be able to sense if it has been purified, though," Kikyou said serenely, ignoring his outburst. "Such is an ability of a miko."

"If you're a miko, why can't you purify it? Demons are the ones that are supposed to be _killed_ by purification! How do I know this thing won't burn me once it's purified?!" the hanyou ranted.

"Would Inuyasha-niichan's mama have done something like that to her son?" Kaede wondered aloud.

Inuyasha's eyes softened. "No," he said. "She wouldn't have."

"Then listen to her." Kaede smiled brightly.

Inuyasha nodded and slowly extended a clawed hand and picked up the jewel. His eyes widened as he felt a surge of warm energy pass through his body. He turned to look at Kikyou expectantly. "Well?" he asked. "Is it purified?"

Kikyou was using all her self-control to keep from letting her jaw drop. "N-no," she stammered uncharacteristically. "It's exactly the same…"

Inuyasha's right eye twitched. "What?! What the hell are you talking about?!"

"How should I know why it didn't work?" Kikyou demanded sourly, losing her temper for what felt like the first time in a decade. "_You're_ the one that's supposed to be able to purify it! Not me!"

"_Then why is it not purified, dammit?!_"

"Why are you asking me?!"

"'Cause you're the effing miko! Shouldn't purifying shit be under your list of know-how?!"

"I can't be expected to know everything!"

"Fuck you!"

Kaede watched the exchange with hidden amusement. "Inuyasha-niichan isn't very mature at all," she stated with a giggle, causing both the hanyou and the miko to freeze and look at her.

"_'Not mature'_?! I'LL SHOW YOU WHO'S 'NOT MATURE'!!"

Kikyou furrowed her brow, her sister's words making sense. "That's it," she said, calming down. "Inuyasha is not mature yet."

"Excuse me?!" Inuyasha cracked his knuckles ominously as he glared at her.

Kikyou gave him a piercing stare of her own. "Your mother said you could only purify it when you were mature, and, as Kaede said, you are certainly not mature now."

Inuyasha's pride deflated. "Fine," he consented grumpily. "Let's say that is the case."

"It is," Kaede giggled.

"Shut up!" Inuyasha growled. He turned back to the stony miko. "If that is the reason, then what am I supposed to do? It took a hell of a long time to find your village, and it's not really all that safe out there for me once a month… And I sure as hell won't be able to tell when I'm _'mature'_ or not."

"Then stay here," Kikyou said evenly, earning an annoyed _'What?!'_ from Inuyasha. "If you stay here, you can try to purify the jewel each day. It is bound to work eventually."

"But my demon blood slows my aging process!" Inuyasha protested. "It could take years…decades, even!"

"Then you would do well to silence that explosive nature of yours as quickly as possible," Kikyou said sombrely, turning on her heel to leave the shrine and the fuming Inuyasha.

Kaede looked thrilled at Kikyou's proposition. "Yay!" she cheered happily, running to Inuyasha and clinging to him like a leech. "It looks like Inu-niichan will be here for a while!"

Inuyasha stared down at the ecstatic eight year old girl with a sense of foreboding dread. "Great…"

**xXx**

On a hill, a couple of miles away from the village, a demon silently sniffed the air. His sharp golden eyes closed slightly as he took in the scent of the air around him. The land smelled clean, of fresh rain and earth. It brought a small smile to his lips.

He turned to leave, his long, silver ponytail shining brilliantly in the morning light as he began to walk away, the three swords tucked into his obi clicking soundly against each other with each step.

He blinked at the sharp pain he felt on his neck, similar to that of being pinched. He slapped his neck carelessly, fangs peeking out over his lower lip when he heard the shriek of pain. He plucked the flattened flea demon off his skin and gave him a sceptical look.

"Myouga," he greeted the tiny demon gaily. "You do realise that you wouldn't experience so much pain over the course of your life if you alerted me before you take my blood, don't you?"

The flea coughed uneasily, averting his large eyes away from the regal daiyoukai that was addressing him so casually. "Sorry, my lord," Myouga said sheepishly.

The demon laughed pleasantly. "It's quite all right. I understand that it is hard to break habits that have existed for as long as time itself," he said kindly. "Actually, it is a good thing you are here…" he averted his gaze to the small village that was just within his powerful eyesight. "I need you to keep a close watch over my son," he said seriously. "I cannot help him effectively and keep Sesshoumaru at bay at the same time."

Myouga nodded. "Of course, my lord!" he squeaked. "I shall be with him for as long as you wish!"

The demon lord smiled and nodded gratefully. "Excellent," he said.

Myouga looked at the other demon curiously. "So, he is not yet mature?"

The silver-haired demon shook his head wearily. "No, but he was under the impression that he was…" He laughed lightly. "I was like that too, as a child."

Myouga raised his large eyes to the heavens. "Not another one…" he muttered, getting himself squished between the demon lord's fingers for the unwanted, yet truthful, comment.

"So how much longer will it be?" Myouga asked, once he had recovered.

The demon lord scratched his chin thoughtfully. "About fifty years, I'd wager. Give or take."

Myouga looked rather pleased by this. "That'll pass in an instant."

The demon lord nodded, also looking excited by this. "I know," he said. "I can hardly wait." His gleeful expression darkened slightly. "However, mature or not, things cannot happen without Sesshoumaru." He groaned tiredly. "I'm getting too old for these things…"

_'Welcome to my world… I have to put up with all _three_ of you…'_ Myouga thought glumly. But to the demon lord, he put on a plastic smile. "Do not worry, my lord. Things will work out, and you'll be a grandfather in no time."

The demon lord smiled at this. "I hope so," he mumbled vaguely. Then he laughed. "I just want Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha to have children that'll drive them as nuts as they drove me."

Myouga had to smother his snickers at that comment. _'That's what your parents said about you…'_

Inu no Taishou raised an eyebrow at Myouga. "What?" he asked, completely oblivious to the thoughts passing through the flea's head.

"N-nothing, my lord…"

Inu no Taishou squished him anyway.

**xXx  
**

Well. That's chapter one of my first Inuyasha fic. The pairing will be Sesshoumaru/Inuyasha, so YAY for the Inucest fans.

I can imagine that the fans of "LfAR" who have me on the author alert will be pretty annoyed when they see that I've posted a new fic instead of a new chapter...And for that, I apologise. I just am searching for some inspiration so I can continue that fic... I need to read a couple Kai/Rei fics before I get on my writing high.

Actually, it's because of "LfAR" that I got into Inuyasha. You see, I had never read/watched Inuyasha in my life until about a year ago, but I had heard of it first through a review I got on "LfAR" that mentioned that it was similar to Inuyasha. I didn't really dwell much on that...until now. After I saw episode one of Inuyasha, I got all teary and was like _"OMG! IT'S TRUE!!"_ And I was sad.

Still, my love for Inuyasha, and my greater love for Sesshoumaru/Inuyasha coerced me into writing a piece...

**Further notes:** This is slightly AU, so Inu-papa is still alive, and Sesshy has two arms. (_'Cause this is the one situation where quantity is more than quality._) Characters will be slightly OOC, but I'm still trying to keep them fairly in character, so you probably won't see any _"OMG, Sesshy hates me, I'm such a fucking loser! I wish I'd die!"_!Inuyasha. Sorry, all!

On that note, thank you to everyone for reading! I love reviews and comments, so any given will be greatly appreciated... And please try to refrain from being too brutal... This is the first fanfiction I've written in...like three years... 00;

**xXx**


	2. Family

** xXx**

_'When I learned I was to be something of the guardian of the heirs to the Inu Youkai clan, I was honoured. I had constantly been told in my younger years that I would amount to nothing. I am, after all, just a flea demon. When the Great Dog daiyoukai of my childhood and early adulthood, Inu no Taishou's father, entrusted me to take care of his children and his children's children and his children's children's children and his…well…you get the idea. Anyway, when he assigned me with such an important life's task, I was flattered and greatly motivated to do my best. I had figured that the old dog was finally rewarding for my many years of endless service and obedience and unwavering loyalty. I mean, to present someone with such a crucial role, one would have though he was showing favouritism to me, right?_

_ 'The fact that he was smirking when he 'promoted' me should have been the first sign._

_ 'That guy was a lot like Sesshoumaru. Smiling was a sign that the harbinger of doom was swiftly approaching. Laughing meant that everything good and holy was forfeit. The fact that he smirked was to represent how I would suffer countless millennia looking after his unruly descendents, and that one day, I would finally lose it and crack. And for good reason, too. His heirs were real animals, and not just because they were purebred dog demons. Those two pups were the most hyperactive and insane kids I had ever seen. And I'll be the old man had encouraged that kind of behaviour from them just to raise some hell for me._

_ 'I'm not exactly sure why the guy had it in for me. But I figure that he could really hold a grudge, to condemn me to an eternity of feisty children. Thank god the clan is almost extinct. (Of course, I don't really _mean_ that… I have to wake up and remind myself of that everyday.)_

_ 'Maybe he wouldn't have been so pissed at me if I had possessed a little more confidence in his skill in battle. The fact that I often…ahem…_misplaced_ myself during all the crucial moments in war and general fights and scuffles probably got him rather irked after a couple dozen centuries. Don't see why, though. It's not like I didn't hang around…I was just a safe distance away. And I always came back, too. Just after all the enemies had either died or fled._

_ 'Still, Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru are proving far more difficult to raise. Both are extremely stubborn; and a little on the dense side, to be truthful. They probably inherited that from Inu no Taishou. When milord was a pup, he never really learned to leave that dragon brat, Ryuukotsusei, alone. One would have thought that being infected with lethal dragon poison on a weekly basis would have taught him a lesson. Oh well. It's not like Inu no Taishou is recognised as being a genius or something intellectual._

_ 'If anything, his plans for Inuyasha's and Sesshoumaru's futures are certainly solid proof that he is no genius. Rather, it just shows that he's a masochist. A masochist and a sadist. I mean, honestly. I think the entire clan is out to get me. Inu no Taishou wants me to help him interfere with Inuyasha's and Sesshoumaru's _ love lives_ of all things, and they keep on dumping that brat pup on me, even if he is fairly capable of taking care of himself. Hell, there are more than enough demons to torture in the land. But, both always pick me to do their dirty work._

_ 'The Inu clan is notorious for their power, both politically and physically. But what they really should be recognised for is their nasty sense of humour. Damn sadists. I hate my job.'_

** xXx**

** The Greatest Gift**

** xXx**

Second Shard: Family

** xXx**

Inu no Taishou sighed tiredly as he gazed down at the demon kneeling at his feet.

"Chichiue," the demon said softly, looking stiffly at the ground, "You requested my presence?" It sounded like more of a statement than a question. He lifted his eyes to fix the daiyoukai with a sharp golden stare from beneath a silver fringe.

Inu no Taishou forced himself to smile at the stony demon. "Yes, thank you for coming on such short notice, Sesshoumaru."

The eldest son of Inu no Taishou simply blinked, the red marks adorning his eyelids accentuating the languid action. "Of course, Chichiue," he said, voice completely devoid of emotion. "I have Jaken seeing to my duties while I am absent from my home."

Inu no Taishou vaguely remembered an easily panicked kappa that had followed his eldest son around during their last rendezvous, squawking anxiously every few moments. "He is that green one that accompanies you everywhere?" he asked idly, wanting to confirm his mental image.

"That is correct," Sesshoumaru replied.

"Why is he not with you today?" Inu no Taishou wondered aloud.

Sesshoumaru stared up at his father through half-lidded eyes. "I imagined that if you had called me here so unexpectedly, it would have been for important reasons. And the more Jaken knows, the more he panics. And his nervous chatter is most irritating."

Inu no Taishou fought the urge to roll his eyes at Sesshoumaru's clearly overdone staidness. The young daiyoukai was really trying far too hard to be like his grandfather, Inu no Taishou noted with a twinge of humour.

"It hardly is a stressing matter," he said lightly, though that was truthfully a lie. "I just wished to speak to you regarding your brother and your plans for the next generation."

Sesshoumaru visibly stiffened. "I wish to have nothing to do with the hanyou lest I be granted permission to end his life."

_'Marriage can technically be seen as the end of one's life,'_ Inu no Taishou thought sarcastically. _ 'Or at least the end of one's ability to exercise free will.'_

"You are not to kill him," the demon lord said resolutely, tugging on his long ponytail distractedly. "Rather, I want you to form a bond with him," he eyed Sesshoumaru, curious for a response.

"Then he does not exist," Sesshoumaru said flatly, lowering his gaze. "I neither need nor desire any relationship with him. Both friendship and familial bonds would be wasted with Inuyasha."

Inu no Taishou sighed wearily as he patted his son's silver head. "You know quite well that friendship is not what I am referring to," he muttered, watching his son's eyes narrow into golden slits. "You know as well as I do that our once large and prosperous clan is meeting the end of its days," he said mournfully. "I do not wish for you and Inuyasha to be the last of our kind. I refuse to let either of you die, especially when there is the alternative of a new life."

"I will not bear any children of a hanyou," Sesshoumaru hissed, his normally composed voice resembling that of a feral beast. He knocked his father's hand off his head, and rose to his feet, eyes flashing dangerously. "I would take my life before stooping to the level of that imbecile. If he so much as found a way to impregnate me, I would kill both myself and any grandchildren of yours without so much as a second thought."

Inu no Taishou did not doubt it, but chose not to be rattled by his son's threat.

"Whoever said that it had to be you bearing the child?" he asked lightly, regarding his son's fury with amusement. "True, both of you need an heir, and I would like for the first grandchild of mine to have as much of his or her proud lineage as possible." He gave Sesshoumaru a desperate look. "I want our bloodline to live on, and you two are the only ones that can make it possible."

Sesshoumaru furrowed his brow. "Inuyasha cannot bear children. That fool is tainted by enough human blood to mar his chances. Any attempts at pregnancy would end in miscarriage." His lip curled into a smirk. "Are you suggesting that we stoop down to your level and run off with the first human girl we see?"

Inu no Taishou felt his blood boil, but successfully maintained his cool self-control. "Of course not. I'm telling you to bind yourself to Inuyasha."

Sesshoumaru laughed caustically, causing his father to shiver. "Such a marriage would not only be short-lived – if even – but it would also be pointless. No heirs will come forth. Such is the fault of a hanyou."

"He is special."

"Why? Because he is your bastard son?"

"Remember who you are talking to, _boy_," Inu no Taishou growled as he stuck the claws of his right hand rather painfully in his son's shoulder, a typical punishment demons used on impudent youngsters. Sesshoumaru was unfazed by the attack and instead lifted one of his hands lazily, his eyes never leaving his father's.

"That is a lovely move, _ Father_," he said coolly, flexing his fingers wickedly. "But do keep in mind that I can do that same move…but with more…_finesse_." A toxic green poison began to drip ominously from his claws. "But I'm sure you were aware of that, seeing as it is, inadvertently, your fault that I have them." His smouldering eyes flashed slightly. "You were never good with relationships, so you try to force your own lack of principles on both me and Inuyasha. Despicable." He took the hand that impaled him, and carelessly yanked its claws out of his flesh. "You give new meaning to the term 'dog.'"

Inu no Taishou glared venomously at Sesshoumaru. "You would not understand," he snarled. "I am doing what is best for the clan. And, so long as you do not push me over the edge, _ Sesshoumaru_, that includes you."

"This clan is dead. You know that somewhere in the depths of your subconscious. Any attempts on your behalf to restore it are just that: foolhardy attempts. I _will not_ conceive, and Inuyasha _cannot_ conceive. There is nothing left for you now."

Sesshoumaru roughly turned to leave. "Good day, Father. It was a most enjoyable visit."

"Sesshoumaru!" Inu no Taishou barked at his son's receding back. "Do not turn your back on me! Remember where you come from!"

Sesshoumaru turned to give his father the most venomous look he could muster. Inu no Taishou was vividly reminded of Ryuukotsusei.

"Do not even _think_ about saying that to me, Chichiue," Sesshoumaru hissed. "You were the one that turned your back on me two-hundred years ago."

The daiyoukai wilted at the apparent truth. "Sesshoumaru," he pleaded, changing his tactic. "You really must trust me on this. Inuyasha is special. He has the ability to save the race of inu daiyoukai, but he cannot do so alone!"

Sesshoumaru looked uninterested. "Am I perhaps the most convenient co parent you could find?" he asked lightly, looking slightly annoyed. "If you want the purest children you can get, you go impregnate him. You have certainly done worse."

Inu no Taishou looked mortified at such a suggestion. "I could never do that!" he exclaimed. "It has to be you!"

Sesshoumaru sniffed haughtily. "Indeed." He turned to leave again. "This Sesshoumaru will not be used as a meagre tool in your pathetic plans. I could never mate a hanyou. Being bound to such a weakling would only be an insult to wake up to every morning. And the idea of having children with one… How lewd, Chichiue. Grandfather would be quite put out with you. Thank goodness he is not around to see how low you have stooped to protect your bloodline. Me? Mate a hanyou? It is laughable.

"Nobody is worthy of succeeding our line," Sesshoumaru murmured, brushing some of his long silver hair behind his elegantly pointed ears. "All sides of our family are tainted."

"Sesshoumaru," Inu no Taishou said sharply, "You will do this. You have a duty to fulfill both to your clan and to your father, and that is to prepare for the future."

"If I must be used for such a miserable plot," he gave his father an uncharacteristically apologetic look, "I will not have my children born by _any_ weak hanyou wench." He swallowed slowly. "Chichiue," he said softly, "Is there any other way?" he asked, eyes shining with an unknown feeling. "I find it most regrettable that there are only two and a half of our kind left in this world, and I wish such were not the case, but," his eyes glazed over, "You must understand that my past experiences regarding Inuyasha have given me strong feelings on the matter, so you must forgive me if I seem less than willing."

Inu no Taishou gaped at his son's strange behaviour. "Y-you are willing?" he choked out.

Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow quizzically. "Not at all. Whatever gave you that ridiculous conclusion?"

Inu no Taishou tried to regain his poise. "Nothing," he said hurriedly. "I was mistaken…"

"Apparently so." Sesshoumaru gave his father another odd look before sighing wearily. "Inuyasha has seen roughly two-hundred winters, correct?"

"That's right."

"What on earth makes you so sure that he will be able to bear any children?" Sesshoumaru asked suddenly, trying to mask his curiosity. "As a hanyou, he will lose his demon form once a month. During then, he will be a human, and human males cannot carry children."

"As I said, he is special," the daiyoukai said lightly.

Sesshoumaru frowned slightly. "You will not tell me?" It was, once again, more of a statement. "Very well. We will see how cockamamie that theory of yours is in due time, I suppose."

"You'll be surprised."

"I doubt it," Sesshoumaru replied tritely. "How much longer do I have before you condemn me?" he asked casually.

"Just until your brother is mature."

Sesshoumaru blinked. "I see." He averted his eyes toward the ground, and for a moment, Inu no Taishou believed that would be the end of their meeting and would have left the room had Sesshoumaru not suddenly spoken. "Chichiue," he said, startling his father. "Is Inuyasha…strong?" he looked generally curious, like he had as a pup.

Inu no Taishou smiled. "As all sons of mine are," he replied gently.

Sesshoumaru merely blinked again. "Is that all?" he asked finally. "Is there nothing more you wish to discuss?"

"No, not really," Inu no Taishou said watching his son carefully. He hadn't expected Sesshoumaru's filial piety to run that deep.

Sesshoumaru nodded and slowly began to walk away, sour thoughts about his future pooling in his head.

_'No one is worthy to succeed our clan. We are all tainted bastards. This Sesshoumaru cannot bring himself to mate a lowly hanyou. That would just lay further damage to the name of the Inu daiyoukai.'_ He stopped walking once he was outside his father's elegant home. He stared up at the clear blue sky. _'I cannot allow myself to impute such a poor heir upon our clan. There must be another way. It is highly unlikely, perhaps even impossible, that Inuyasha is anywhere near adept to be a daiyoukai. Goodness, he is not even a youkai. However, it would further dishonour our clan if I were to disobey my father.'_ Sesshoumaru furrowed his brow and began his journey back to his home, sprinting off at an inhuman pace.

_ 'Marrying anyone else is, unfortunately, out of the question. Therefore, this Sesshoumaru must find a way to compromise Inuyasha's less than satisfactory blood before we are made to have children. Because no matter how much I may despise my brother, Chichiue is correct, and the survival of the clan must be my first priority.'_

** xXx**

"This is most peculiar," was all Kikyou could articulate regarding the well that had mysteriously dried up on a particularly stormy night. Though the miko trusted her sister, she hadn't quite expected the eight year old child's declaration of the dry well to be true. Or at least to be so literal.

The well was known throughout the village as being eternally full. It had always seemed that no matter how great the number of buckets of water taken was, the amount of water within the well never dwindled. This was simply abnormal. It was as if the earth had sucked all the water away. As if hoping such were the case, Kikyou leaned forward into the well, trying to find the drain.

"I told you," Kaede mumbled from behind her, a childish pout adorning her face as she tried to look intimidating. "But you never listen, Onee-sama."

Kikyou wasn't even interested in retaliating; she was so rattled by the dry well. "I'm sorry, Kaede," she said loosely, hardly paying attention. "This is just rather overwhelming."

Inuyasha snorted derisively. "Keh, I don't see what you two are getting so worked up about. So your dumb well dried up. So what? It's not like life won't go on. Geez. Just go dig another one. It's not such a big deal. Your village has a freshwater river. Be thankful," he reprimanded from his perch in a nearby tree.

Kaede frowned at him. "This is a sacred well," she said. "It is a big deal."

Inuyasha looked impassive. "What's so special about some wet hole in the ground?" he asked wondrously. "Really, you humans just like to worship things…"

"A war once took place here," Kikyou said as she averted her confused brown eyes to Inuyasha's face before returning back to the curious well. "It took place around one-thousand five-hundred years ago."

Inuyasha still appeared unimpressed. "So what?" he asked, not even bothering to mask his disinterest. "There's always a war happening somewhere," he pointed out dryly.

"Not like this one," Kaede said. "This was a full-fledged war between the demon clans and mankind."

"And again, so what?" Inuyasha drawled. "Humans and demons don't really make that many attempts at peaceful interaction. What's left but war?"

"This was a war that nobody won," Kaede continued, unbothered by the hanyou's sarcastic remarks. "It was just pointless bloodshed. The amount of casualties was appalling, and in the end, many of the bodies and ashes were tossed into the well."

"Are you _shitting me_?!" Inuyasha's eyes widened, the colour draining from his face. "And even with that knowledge, you guys actually liked to _drink_ the water that was in that well?!" He looked disgusted. "That's sick! The soil down there's probably riddled with the ashes of all those putrid demons and humans…"

"No, actually, the remains never remained down there," Kaede said, looking a bit queasy at Inuyasha's outburst. "The well got nicknamed "bone-devouring," because everything that was dropped inside would always disappear shortly after being dropped into the well."

"That's because psychos like you two were greedily slurping up that 'water.'"

"_No_," Kikyou muttered, also in the process of getting sick to her stomach. "The well was completely dry back then. Just as it is now. It only began to hold water a couple years after the carnage had been completely disposed of."

"Oh," Inuyasha said, his cheeks slowly returning back to their normal colour. "So then, where did all the bones and ashes and shit go, if not into the future water supply?"

"Nobody knows," Kikyou said darkly. "Our ancestors have been pondering that for centuries, now. The only idea they could come up with was that everything that went in had all vanished to a different world."

"Another world, eh?" Inuyasha laughed. "What kind of shit is that?"

** xXx**

Having grown weary of watching Kikyou and Kaede fuss over the dry well, Inuyasha had jumped out of the tree in favour of wandering around the fields just outside the village. He had decided that he liked it out there. It was peaceful. Peaceful and empty. Not at all like the village, which was far too crowded and simply exploding with sound and people. Inuyasha found that even though humans were social, and that even though his human blood craved to form bonds with others, his demon blood made him feel otherwise. Demons, according to Myouga and his father, Inu no Taishou, often preferred to keep to themselves and tended to go by a simple code that was 'leave me alone, and I'll leave you alone.'

For the most part, Inuyasha felt that the demons had the right idea. Demons were old fashioned, he'd learned. Old fashioned and had more appreciation for the little things in life. They weren't like humans, who thrived on petty items and social hierarchy.

That was another thing Inuyasha didn't care much for in human society. Their entire social class system was far too complex and corrupted. With humans, power was based firstly on influence, then money, then lineage. Demons rewarded power only to those that deserved it. In other words, powerful demons were powerful because they were, quite simply, powerful. And that was that. The fact that breeding among certain clans helped secure better chances of survival for their young was the only smudge on the otherwise accommodating demon hierarchy. If one wanted power in the demon society, they were to become stronger. It was as simple as that. Inuyasha liked simplicity. He also liked appreciating the world the way it was made to be.

If there was one thing he had never even bothered trying to understand about humans was their desire to reshape the world around them. Inuyasha had a bit of a tender spot for nature. He failed to see the use for many human contraptions. Like shoes.

Wearing shoes may lessen the chance of one injuring his or her feet, but it also robbed one of the feelings of soft grass tickling one's ankles, and of mud squelching in between one's toes. There really was no point to shoes, in Inuyasha's opinion. If one walked around barefoot enough, one's soles would toughen so that little pebbles would hardly hurt, and twigs would be unable to cause splinters.

Yes. Barefoot was certainly the way to go.

"_Ouch_!" Unless one stepped on a particularly annoying flea demon on a fairly regular basis.

Inuyasha winced as he peeled Myouga off his heel. The flea moaned piteously, his bulbous eyes rolling about in his head.

"Good to see you, Inuyasha-sama," he said, voice bouncing around in pitch. He was still quite disoriented from the unforeseen squish.

Inuyasha sat down cross-legged in the grass, looking quizzically at his clan's servant. "What's up, Myouga-jijii?" he asked lightly. "Did the old man send you off on some hopeless mission again?"

Myouga nodded slowly. "In a matter of speaking," he muttered, sniggering inwardly. "Actually, your father sent me out to find you…"

Inuyasha frowned. "Why didn't he just come here himself?"

"I'm sure those human villagers would be honoured with the Inu no Taishou's presence," Myouga laughed. "So honoured, they might even send forth a miko to greet him by shooting him with an arrow reserved specifically for such an event."

Inuyasha squashed the flea demon between his hands. "What's he doing? I haven't seen that guy in about five years…"

"He was here last night, but he couldn't stick around. He had some business to attend to. He had to meet with Sesshoumaru."

Inuyasha pulled a sour expression. "Sesshoumaru?" He had never met his half-brother, as was the precaution made by their father to ensure Inuyasha's safety. Inuyasha wasn't sure if he ever wanted to meet his long lost brother; especially if the first thing said brother would do was attack him on sight.

"Yes. Inu no Taishou required an audience to speak with Sesshoumaru regarding you."

"Me?" Inuyasha was nonplussed. "What would he need to talk to that bastard about me for?"

"Your father wants the two of you to meet in approximately fifty years."

"What?! Why?!" Inuyasha sputtered. "The way the two of you describe Sesshoumaru, you make him sound like he's just waiting for an encounter with me so he can polish me out of existence!"

Myouga coughed nervously; he had been instructed by Inu no Taishou to refrain from revealing to Inuyasha certain details of the meeting. One such detail being the fact that the two were to be bound. "Inu no Taishou is working on making Sesshoumaru more…erm…_accepting_. Fifty years, as we see it, should give us enough time to work him over."

"Fifty years is an awfully short time to rid someone of opinions they've had for over two-thousand years," Inuyasha muttered sceptically. "Why fifty years? Why not one-hundred? That would probably be safer…"

"Well, there is a sense of urgency in this date…"

"Oh really?"

"Um…yes. But…that is…" Myouga stumbled on his words. "We want to wait for you to be more…mature!" There. Not only did that sound semi-reasonable, it was also technically part of the truth.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Why does everything have to wait until I'm mature?!"

"Whatever do you mean, Inuyasha-sama?" Myouga asked innocently.

"Like all that shit about the Shikon Jewel. Did you know that 'sacred' jewel really is just a shiny rock? What the hell is so special about it?" Inuyasha wondered.

Myouga shrugged, even though he did know. "I've only heard rumours," he lied easily. "Many say that it makes demons stronger."

"How would anyone know that? No one has ever managed to steal it," Inuyasha scoffed. "Sounds like a load of bullshit, to me. I've held that marble, okay? It did absolutely nothing except make me feel like an idiot for going through all that trouble to find it."

"There are other rumours of its power, Inuyasha-sama. That was just the most common one."

"Like what?"

"It will bestow its chosen master with the greatest gift of all."

Inuyasha snorted. "That sounds rather fishy. Isn't there anything more plausible?"

"Well," Myouga eyed Inuyasha carefully, "There is another rumour that says that it can turn a hanyou into a full-blood youkai."

"Really?" Inuyasha looked interested. "It can really do that?"

Myouga shrugged again. "No one knows. It is only a rumour." He blinked owlishly. "Didn't your mother tell you anything about its purpose or ability?"

"Keh! I wish," Inuyasha sulked. "Mom was always such a vague person. The most she told me that actually made sense was that it was destined for me. That, and the fact that I cannot use it until I'm _mature_."

_'It's worse than I thought,'_ Myouga noted bleakly. _'He really is immature. Fifty years might not be enough.'_

"Maybe she meant you needed to be stronger?" Myouga offered, making an impressive leap to the hanyou's shoulder.

"Yeah, right," Inuyasha got to his feet and began trekking back to the village. "So, when's the next time you plan on seeing my dad?" he asked the flea curiously.

"I don't know. Maybe in a week? He has told me to keep a watch over you until the time you must meet Sesshoumaru."

"Sesshoumaru, huh?" Inuyasha furrowed his brow, deep in thought. "What's Sesshoumaru like?" he asked idly.

"He is unquestionably one of the strongest dog demons to be born, and an amazing strategist, and he—"

"I don't care about his political standpoint and his battle stats," Inuyasha sighed. "I want to know about Sesshoumaru. What is he like as a person?"

Myouga blinked, not expecting that sort of a question. "No one really knows anymore," he admitted. "The person he was as a child and the person he is now are completely different. He actually was a rather pleasant kid. He was brilliant, of course. And he was very sensitive to everything happening around him," Myouga recalled fondly. "He always knew exactly what a person was feeling. I suppose he was just observant."

"What's he like now?"

Myouga wilted. "He hardly talks to anyone, and he's become the perfect kind of unfeeling demon leader. Iron fisted: strict with humans, stricter with demons. I haven't seen him enjoying himself – or life – in a few centuries."

Inuyasha looked at the flea demon in confusion. "What on earth happened to him that made him so bitter?"

"Nobody really knows," Myouga said glumly. "There's only speculation."

"Well," Inuyasha pursed his lips, "When did this change happen?"

Myouga pointedly looked away from the hanyou. "Shortly after you were conceived."

** xXx**

Jaken anxiously paced the hallway outside Sesshoumaru's study, his clammy hands clutching onto a scroll that had been delivered moments ago.

_'What to do, what to do?'_ he mentally anguished. _'Sesshoumaru-sama has been in such a bad mood since this afternoon when he returned from the Western Palace from his meeting with Inu no Taishou. If anything is even the slightest out of place, he'll kill me!'_

The kappa released a mournful wail of despair. Sesshoumaru slid the door to his study open in a single, smooth movement.

"Jaken," he said, voice eerily calm. "Would you be so kind as to silence that infernal racket? I cannot focus on my work with you clomping around my hallway and filling my ears with that heavy breathing." His eyes flashed as he spied the scroll in the small green demon's hands.

"What is that?" he asked, a dangerous sound of aggravation tainting his smooth voice.

Jaken tried pathetically to hide it behind his back. "I-It's nothing, Sesshoumaru-sama!" he squawked. "Jus-just a m-m-message that came in… Nothing important that you need to worry yourself with… Aah!" he let out a feeble protest as the daiyoukai plucked the scroll out of his slippery hands.

Sesshoumaru's golden eyes surveyed the scroll and took immediate note that the seal had been broken. He stared down at Jaken. "You have read it?"

Jaken hated it when Sesshoumaru stated questions. Why bother stating things in a questioning way if he already knew them to be true? Jaken sometimes felt that Sesshoumaru took some sort of sick, sadistic pleasure from seeing the kappa squirm in discomfort. Myouga had warned him back when he was offered the job. He should have listened to the flea.

"Y-yes, my lord! But only because the youkai delivering the message had told me it came from the northernmost island!"

Sesshoumaru blinked. He had never dealt with the Northern Island before. The dragons had their territory lying to the north, so he had always assumed that they also had control over the Northern Island. Now, looking at the seal on the scroll, he wasn't so sure. The seal was not one of a dragon clan. His eyes widened in recognition.

"Jaken," he said softly, all traces of annoyance vanishing. "What kind of youkai gave you this scroll?" he implored, sounding almost desperate.

Jaken relaxed, sensing Sesshoumaru wouldn't punish him. "It was a kitsune, I think. He said he was doing the delivery as a favour. He was really headed to the east."

"I see." The daiyoukai scanned the neat calligraphy of the message and breathed a low 'hmm' of interest. Finally he rolled the scroll up and stared down at his servant. "Jaken," he said. "We're going to the Northern Island tomorrow."

** xXx**

Kaede dragged two buckets over to the river, sent to gather more water for the soup Kikyou was making for supper and for general use. She hated walking around the village at night. It was creepy. All the torch lights cast long shadows around her feet and made every stray cat sound like a gruesome oni lying in wait.

She dunked one of the buckets into the river. Truthfully, traveling to the river by torchlight was far less intimidating than walking blindly into the forest. The sound of the flowing river was soothing, and not nearly as nerve-racking as the dead silence of the well.

Kaede raised the first bucket and placed it carefully on the riverbank. Just as she was reaching for her second bucket, a sound more frightening than silence met her ears. The sound of a twig snapping.

Kaede spun around, eyes fearfully scanning her surroundings. She swallowed nervously; it was too dark to see everything. She felt herself growing dizzy from anxiety. Demons, beasts, and all sorts of suspicious characters hung around in the dark at night, and the river was always a sight for diverse life forms. Whoever – or whatever – was outside with her could be anything between a wild boar and a rogue warrior.

"Hello…?" she called out, her voice trembling. Her eyes widened as the bushes began to rustle. She reached a trembling hand inside her obi, nervously searching for the subjugation beads she always carried around with her. (Kikyou had forced her to so she could ease her own paranoia.) She let out a horrified squeak when she realised that the enchanted beads were still around Inuyasha's neck. She took a tentative step back from the bushes.

The rustling got louder, a low growling sound emanating from the bushes. Kaede's eyes widened as sweat trickled down her neck. She squeaked when she heard the horrible beast move swiftly.

And suddenly, the creature shot through the bushes at the little girl. Kaede let out a shriek of terror and fell backwards onto her rear, eyes wide as she stared at her attacker.

The squirrel blinked up at her owlishly, its nose twitching.

Kaede stared down at the furry animal in confusion. "Oh," she said lamely, feeling rather foolish. She glared crossly at the squirrel as she rose stiffly to her feet and dusted off her yukata. "Well," she muttered, "That was stupid." She groaned as she turned away from the squirrel to fill her other bucket. She froze in bewilderment when she saw it completely filled and presented to her by a small redheaded boy.

"Just a bit," he giggled, emerald eyes shining with mirth. "But it happens to the best of us." His laughter subsided when he realised Kaede wasn't sharing his humour. He cocked his head to the side, face puzzled. "Is there something wrong?" he inquired, pushing the bucket into her arms. He gave her a nervous smile, revealing a bit of fang.

Kaede backed away from the boy, causing his smile to fade. He looked innocent enough. His auburn hair was neatly tied back by a blue-green ribbon, and his bangs were cut into a cute fringe. He was tidily dressed in an aqua-coloured haori with a white leaf pattern and a blue hakama. (Kaede dimly noted that the haori and the boy's hair ribbon matched.) The sheen of the golden fur vest the boy wore glimmered in the moonlight. Kaede stifled a gasp as she saw the feet of the boy: small, dainty paws.

"When did you get here?" Kaede asked quietly, frozen to the spot. Her eyes moved to become fixated on his ears. They were devilishly pointed. She tightened her grip on the bucket in her arms as she tried to keep from panicking. This was proving to be a confusing day filled with demons: Inuyasha in the morning, Myouga in the afternoon, and now this kid at night.

The young youkai pondered over her question. "A few minutes ago." He grinned widely. "Just enough time to see you completely freak out." He looked behind Kaede, curious to see where she had come from. He eyed the village with interest. "Is that your village?" he asked unnecessarily.

"Uh hunh…" Kaede stared at him listlessly, still too caught up in the fact that she was talking to yet another demon. The demon child seemed to sense her unease for he quickly bowed in an introductory manner.

"Oh, I forgot to introduce myself!" he exclaimed, bending over excessively, and causing a large poof of golden fur to be seen. A tail. Kaede fought the desire to yank on it like she had Inuyasha's ears.

"I'm Shippou, and I'm a kitsune youkai!" he said proudly, the fox demon heritage explaining away his inhuman physical features. "What's your name?"

Kaede blinked, beginning to understand that Shippou was not a threat. "I'm Kaede," she said, inclining her head with a small smile. Shippou stood up straight and smiled widely, clearly enjoying her new found trust of him. "How old are you Shippou?" she asked wondrously. The kitsune could not have been that old; his head barely reached Kaede's waist.

Shippou rubbed his chin with his miniature claws as he pondered. "I'm not really sure," he said sheepishly. "Time goes by so quickly; all I can give you is a guess… I think I'm about fifty years old."

Kaede paused to marvel at the way he was aging. Shippou could have passed off for a four or five year old – and a very, _very_ petite one, at that. Shippou noticed her scrutinising stare, because he pouted and muttered beneath his breath, "Just wait till I get my growth spurt." Kaede flushed vibrantly and quickly and profusely apologised for her rudeness. Shippou forgave her easily.

"So, Kaede," Shippou said, hefting her first bucket into his grasp. "Where do you live?" he asked. "I'll help you take these buckets back to your home, if you like."

Kaede nodded eagerly, thankful for the help. She had wasted a lot of time at the river. Kikyou would be upset if she dallied for much longer, and Inuyasha would be irritated if his monstrous hunger was not quickly sated.

** xXx**

Inuyasha moodily crossed his arms over his chest as his stomach released another anguished gurgle. He had been waiting for over twenty minutes for Kaede to return with the water. Kikyou was still sitting serenely by the indoor fire, all her ingredients neatly sliced into the right sized pieces. But, as she was preparing a soup, she couldn't very well finish cooking dinner without water, and it was imperative that they all wash up before eating. Inuyasha was beginning to hate the miko's sense of priorities. He had given up long ago on convincing Kikyou that soup could technically be eaten without broth. Screw the broth and hygiene. Inuyasha wanted to eat, damn it.

Inuyasha's ears perked up at the sound of Kaede's laughter. He sat up straight, ignoring Myouga's complaint of his comfort being ruined. (He could care less if the flea felt uncomfortable. That damn parasitic demon had just gorged himself on Inuyasha's blood. He deserved to be punished. No one should feel nice and full when he was starving.)

"Kaede's back," Inuyasha reported to the silent miko. He listened again, raising an eyebrow at the second voice accompanying the girl's. "She's got someone with her. Sounds like another kid."

"Who?" Kikyou asked, looking confused. "All village children should be home eating by now."

Inuyasha barely repressed the urge to shout that he should have been eating too. Instead, he wisely chose to eavesdrop on the two children. "The kid's name is Shippou," Inuyasha said, listening carefully to the conversation taking place outside the house. "Sound familiar to you?"

Kikyou shook her head, looking puzzled. "There are no children from this village that are called 'Shippou.'"

Inuyasha shrugged. "Maybe he came from out of town?" he offered, sniffing the air.

Kikyou looked at the hanyou incredulously. "What child wanders around at night-time by himself?"

"I did," Inuyasha replied evenly.

"Not every child is you, Inuyasha-sama," Myouga gently reminded him.

"Keh!" Inuyasha scoffed. "Any demon child could, anyway… Unless they're hopelessly weak…"

"Demon?" Kikyou raised her eyebrows. "Who said this Shippou was a demon?"

"I did," Inuyasha shot. "I can smell it. Why aren't your village scouts doing anything about this? Hell, why aren't _you_ sensing this?"

Kikyou was taken aback. "If there were a demon in the immediate vicinity, I would have sensed him!" she protested.

Kaede and Shippou walked into the room just as she finished her statement. Kaede put her bucket on the ground and smiled brightly at the room's gaping occupants.

"Sorry I took so long, Kikyou-oneesama, but I met Shippou down by the river, and…lookit! He's a kitsune youkai…_so tiny!_ And he's got a tail!" she said rapidly and excitedly. Shippou turned around and wiggled his tail a little.

Inuyasha took one look at Shippou, who was obviously a demon, and burst out laughing. "Sense a demon, my ass!" he sniggered hysterically, completely ignorant to Kikyou's well-disguised murderous intent.

Myouga watched the silently fuming miko with unease. "Inuyasha-sama, perhaps now would be a good time to wash up for dinner," he advised, trying to put as much distance between Kikyou and Inuyasha as possible.

"Hello there, Shippou," Kikyou said graciously to the young kitsune, trying to smother her anger. "What are you doing here at this time of night?"

Shippou opened his mouth to answer, but his stomach spoke instead. The loud gurgling sound put Inuyasha's own stomach to shame. Shippou laughed sheepishly. "Sorry," he apologised. "I haven't eaten since I left the Western Lands."

Myouga felt a siren blare in his head. "You're from the west?" he queried. When Shippou shook his head, Myouga's suspicion grew. "What were you doing there? And by yourself?"

Inuyasha silenced his laughter at the cool tone in Myouga's voice. "Hey, Myouga-jijii, the brat can tell us all about himself over some dinner." He put emphasis on the last word, staring meaningfully at Kikyou, who snorted and took the first bucket from Kaede. Inuyasha smirked smugly when the miko grudgingly began to poor the cool river water into the pot. He stood up and took Shippou's bucket. "C'mon, you two. Let's go get cleaned up so that wench over there won't deprive us of food any longer than necessary."

Kaede had grown rather hungry at this point, so she didn't bother defending her sister's honour, and, instead, nodded readily and followed the hanyou out to the porch, dragging Shippou along with them.

** xXx**

Kikyou had decided that watching Inuyasha eat soup was something like watching a ravenous animal that had been deprived of food for a month rip into a full-course meal. The hanyou ate like a man – demon, in this case – possessed. She and Kaede hadn't noticed his poor table manners during breakfast and lunch because breakfast had been a rushed meal comprising of a basket of fruit, and lunch had been dango and teriyaki on a skewer. Kikyou was now beginning to fear that she had taken Inuyasha's earlier example of dining for granted. Seeing him gobble down the stewed meat and vegetables was almost nauseating. She would have to remember to make dry food more often.

Shippou was not that much better, either, and that made Kikyou wonder if such eating habits were normal with demons, but decided against it. Noble demons were far too prim to dishonour themselves so gluttonously. Myouga was also eating quite politely, so it couldn't have been that all demons were total slobs. (He had been given a spoon containing some of the soup, so he could also sample it.) _'No,'_ she thought. _'It must just be Inuyasha and Shippou.'_

When Shippou was finally done with his fourth helping of soup, he let out a content sigh. "Ne, Kikyou, you cook really well," he said cheerily, patting his full stomach.

Kikyou forced a smile, but Kaede saw her right eye twitch.

"So, Shippou," Inuyasha said around a mouthful of noodles. "Where're you from?"

"I'm from the Northern Island," Shippou said, earning a strangled cough from Myouga.

"The Northern Island?" Kaede asked. "Aren't the dragons the ones that rule it?"

Shippou raised an eyebrow. "No," he said. "The dragons do have a large territory in the north, but they aren't in control of the Northern Island. That's not part of their land."

"That's interesting," Inuyasha mused, tapping his lips with his chopsticks. "I always thought the dragons would have liked it up there…"

Shippou shook his head. "They don't like the cold that much, actually. They just like mountains and stuff. It's mostly bears, deer, and a sect of the wolf clan that live up there."

Myouga was looking uncomfortable with the direction of the conversation. "Why do you live up there, Shippou?" he asked carefully. "Certainly the Northern Island is less than satisfying weather for a young kitsune… Most of your kind lives in the Western Lands, right?"

Shippou nodded. "That's true, my family used to live in the Western Lands, but, see, my parents were servants of Satori-sama, and when she moved north to claim her inherited territory, my parents went with her."

Myouga instantly paled.

"Satori?" Inuyasha asked, looking at the kitsune enquiringly.

Shippou bobbled his head enthusiastically. "She's great," he said. "She's actually the reason I'm down here in the first place."

"You said you came in from the West, right?" Myouga asked, racking his memory.

"Yup."

"Was that on the command of Satori-sama?"

"Yes, Myouga-jijii. She gave me a scroll that was to be given to the young daiyoukai of the West, Sesshoumaru."

Inuyasha nearly dropped his chopsticks. "You've met Sesshoumaru?" he asked the kit, golden eyes wide.

Shippou shook his head furiously, his auburn ponytail flying. "No!" he exclaimed. "What kind of daiyoukai answers his door?"

Inuyasha silenced himself, refusing to notice the probing looks he was getting from his outburst.

"I just gave the scroll to one of his servants, some kappa, I think, and continued on my way to the East," the young demon elucidated. "And then I ended up here."

"Did Satori-sama request you come to the East, as well?" Myouga asked urgently, beginning to feel light-headed. _'Oh great,'_ he thought. _'Inu no Taishou's gonna get a huge migraine over this one…'_

"Yup!" Shippou said, looking pleased. "She wouldn't give the job to anyone else."

Kaede smiled at Shippou, completely oblivious to Myouga's crisis. "This Satori-sama must trust you a lot," she said, making the fox demon beam proudly. "What was your top secret mission, then?"

Shippou smiled. "I was told to find someone."

"Oh really?" Inuyasha asked as he began to chug his tea.

"Yeah!" Shippou said. "Satori-sama asked me to find the hanyou son of Inu no Taishou."

Inuyasha promptly choked on his tea. Kaede thumped his back, understandably concerned with the hanyou's peculiar behaviour.

"_I'm_ Inu no Taishou's hanyou son!" he coughed.

Shippou looked surprised. "Really?" he asked. He sniffed the air. "You are a hanyou," he said finally. "And I guess you do sort of smell like Inu no Taishou…"

"You've met Inu no Taishou?!" Myouga croaked, plainly ignoring Inuyasha's near death experience.

"Of course! He came up north once, to visit Satori-sama."

Kikyou took a languid sip from her tea as she listened to the conversations around her. It was fairly hard to follow. She decided that was because Satori was obviously a figure of northern demon society.

"What does Satori want with Inuyasha?" she asked at last, finally voicing the question that had been picking Inuyasha's and Kaede's minds.

"I don't know," the kitsune confessed. "I was just told to find him."

Inuyasha's face flamed. "What the hell does she want with me? Hell, who exactly is she?!"

Shippou looked flabbergasted that they didn't know. "She's the daiyoukai ruler of the Northern Island. She's Inu no Taishou's younger sister."

** xXx**

**Notes on the chapter:**

Satori is **not an OC**. (_Technically._) She is actually the character that is introduced in the manga as Sesshoumaru's mother. However, I have different plans for her, and to support those plans, she has been made the sister of Inu no Taishou. I also know that Sesshoumaru's mother does not have a canon name, and that makes my job a little harder… Because Rumiko Takahashi has an apparent dislike of disclosing information that is crucial to fanfiction authors, such as names of specific characters, i.e. Inu no Taishou, I am forced to deal with the horrific experience of fishing names for them out of thin air. (_Because I hate having to type out 'Inu no Taishou' every goddamn time._)

Satori is just the 'name' given on wiki. I happen to like the sound of it, and its meaning (_'enlightenment'_), so I have decided to use it.

As for Inu-Papa… He's proving to be more difficult. I cannot and _will not_ dub him Inutaishou, because that is a pretty stupid thing for me to do, as I have already identified his title as that. (_Sort of._)

I need help coming up with a name for him, so if anyone has some suggestions, please feel free to tell me. (_I'm desperate._)

Anyway, thank you to all who took the time to read my fic (_and to review it_); you all really made my day. I appreciate comments, constructive criticism (_though I probably will cry about it in the long run, haha…_), and the like.

**xXx**


	3. Hidden

**xXx**

'_I am said to always have a private agenda that is waiting to be fulfilled. If you ask me, that seems like an unfair assessment of my character. If anything, the manipulative one is my sister. Satori inherited all of our father's cool wit and his wiliness. I am something of a preview to her deceit._

_'I remember, a week after Sesshoumaru was born, Satori took her leave of the west. As she put it, "I have bigger dogs to train." And she left. Just like that. She, her husband, her attendants, and her son left for the north to claim the land that they inherited from our father._

_'Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha have never met their aunt, nor her family. Satori had requested such to be the way to raise my sons. She was always thinking in a military mindset, as such was the way father had raised us to be. I never was good at politics and the like. It was all too confusing for me; my view on diplomacy was to do whatever would keep my people and land reasonably safe. Satori was no diplomat, either. She always seemed to be more of a warlord, than anything else. That was probably why she took off with little warning. Her belief was that if she stayed quiet for long enough, everyone would forget about her. (That's also probably why she was such a noisy brat.)_

_'She believed that should anything happen down on the main island, our clan would hold something of an element of surprise. She always wanted our clan to have the upper hand in battle. Her plan did work well when it came to the Great Eastern War, but our clan didn't go to war without casualties. She lost both her mate and her son in that war, along with many others of our clan._

_'Satori, I think, took the loss harder than I did. She left for her frozen island after telling me to call upon her again should another chaotic war arise._

_'Sesshoumaru had been a small pup, then. He did not fully comprehend the magnitude of loss that had befallen our clan. He had just looked up at me with his large, probing eyes and asked me why grandpa hadn't come home. I didn't have the heart to tell him that much of our family had passed on, but I think he knew. He was always such a smart child._

_'The memorial service for those who had fallen gallantly in war was a sombre affair, yet not bathed in the tears of our sorrow, for we youkai do not mourn their deaths. We celebrate their lives._

_'Sesshoumaru does not yet understand that concept. He is one who makes the mistake of immersing oneself in death._

_'I guess our crappy sense of names is coming back to haunt me. 'The killing perfection?' Really… What were we thinking?_

_'God damn you, Ryuukotsusei.'_

**xXx**

**The Greatest Gift**

**xXx**

Third Shard: Hidden

**xXx**

_"What does Satori want with Inuyasha?" she__ asked at last, finally voicing the question that had been picking Inuyasha's and Kaede's minds._

_"I don't know," the kitsune confessed. "I was just told to find him."_

_Inuyasha's face flamed. "What the hell does she want with me? Hell, who exactly is she?!"_

_Shippou looked flabbergasted that they didn't know. "She's the daiyoukai ruler of the Northern Island. She's Inu no Taishou's younger sister."_

**xXx**

Inuyasha's jaw fell open. "I have an aunt?"

Shippou sniffed haughtily. "What kind of nephew are you, Inuyasha? You don't even know about your own family!" he reprimanded, waggling a small finger in front of the hanyou's face.

Myouga covered his face with his four hands. "Inu no Taishou is going to kill me," he mumbled darkly.

"Not if I kill you first!" Inuyasha barked, swerving around to glare at the flea demon. "You! You knew about this, didn't you?!"

Myouga cowered beneath Inuyasha's spiteful gaze. "We were told never to speak of Satori-sama to you, Inuyasha-sama!" he wailed, arms flapping anxiously. "Inu no Taishou and Satori-sama made an agreement shortly after Sesshoumaru-sama's birth to keep as little communication going between them as possible. It was some sort of battle strategy Satori-sama concocted! I have nothing to do with it! I was just following orders! God! Why do you all like to make my job so difficult?!"

"Screw my dad and his orders! You should have told me!" Inuyasha ranted, sparks flying from his eyes.

Kikyou watched the strange interaction, an amused glint in her eyes. "Inuyasha, you shouldn't be so rude to your elders," she said lightly. Myouga nodded hastily in agreement with the miko. "Besides," she said calmly, "I'm sure that Myouga-san has a very logical explanation for why such a great amount of secrecy was necessary." She shot the flea a look that bordered on threatening. Myouga was beginning to regret his decision to stay with Inuyasha at the miko's home.

"A-actually… There really isn't that much of a reason," Myouga stammered. "It was just something that was generally understood."

Kaede giggled, sensing Myouga's infinite doom approaching rapidly in the shape of an irate hanyou.

"This is such bull," he muttered caustically. "Dad let me go for two hundred years under the impression that we were some sort of dying breed…"

Shippou stared wondrously at Inuyasha, his aqua-coloured eyes wide. _'Could anybody possibly be that thick?'_ he thought, amazed by Inuyasha's sheer ignorance to the demon world.

"Inuyasha," Shippou began, fidgeting a bit, "You really need to head back to your family and get smartened up. You really don't know much about the youkai world, do you?"

Inuyasha flushed angrily. "Shut up!" he snapped. "Even if I don't, I sure as hell don't need some brat like _you_ to tell me that…"

Shippou snorted. _'Inuyasha is more childish than me. Satori-sama is going to have a ball.'_

"Shippou is right, though, Inuyasha-sama," Myouga timidly put in. "You really do need to make yourself more knowledgeable if you are to meet Sesshoumaru-sama. He will not tolerate ignorance, especially when it is coming from a noble youkai."

"Hanyou," Shippou corrected automatically, sizing up Inuyasha. "Since he is a hanyou, I doubt that Sesshoumaru-sama will like him either way."

Inuyasha, incensed by the kitsune's assessment, bit back a growl. "Shut up, brat," he growled. "I don't need anyone to remind me of that." His fiery gaze locked on Shippou. "Besides, you're not much yourself," he muttered childishly.

Shippou rolled his large eyes. "You're really stupid, aren't you?"

"_Excuse me_?" Inuyasha drawled, cracking his knuckles ominously. "Do you want to repeat that?"

Shippou snorted, looking unfazed. "I said you're really stupi—_OUCH_!"

Shippou let out a shriek of pain as Inuyasha's fist connected with his skull. Then suddenly, the young fox demon was immersed in a cloud of thick, white smoke. Kaede and Kikyou fanned their hands in the air, trying to disperse the smoke. And when it finally cleared, instead of the undersized fox demon that barely reached Kaede's waist, sat a young boy that was considerably taller.

The boy coughed on the smoke, a small, clawed hand covering his mouth. He hacked out his lungs dramatically for a few seconds before opening his startling jade eyes and glaring daggers at the gaping Inuyasha.

"Inuyasha, you bastard!" he choked. "Look! You broke my illusion, dammit!" He coughed a few more times, his eyes watering. "Damn smoke…"

Kikyou stared wondrously at the young boy seated across the table from her. He looked to be about eleven or twelve, though rather short and slight in build. She eyed the boy's attire and shock red hair with interest, taking special note of his pointed ears and peculiar feet. There was no doubt in her mind; this was obviously Shippou.

Kaede, unlike her sister, was more than a little confused. "Shippou…?" she tried tentatively, eyes widening when the young demon turned and acknowledged her.

"Yeah?"

Kaede stared. "…I'm confused."

Shippou pouted as he gingerly touched the lump on his head. "It's really not that confusing," he mumbled tearfully. "I'm a kitsune youkai," he said distractedly, as if that would explain everything. Shippou averted his heated gaze back to Inuyasha. "You really suck," he whined. "You didn't have to hit me, you damn bastard…_OUCH_!"

Inuyasha smirked imperiously at the second bump rapidly forming on Shippou's head. "That's what you get, brat. Consider what you say before opening your trap."

Shippou seethed angrily, but didn't dare retorting, knowing that anything he said would result in yet another wallop.

Kaede chewed on her chopsticks thoughtfully. "How did Shippou get so old so fast?" she wondered aloud. Shippou jumped at the sound of her voice. He had forgotten all about the two humans in the room.

"I'm a kitsune youkai," he said again. "We're masters of illusions."

"Huh?"

"It's okay if you don't understand, Kaede," Myouga said gently. "It is a little confusing."

Kikyou looked interestedly at the fox demon. "You cast an image of a weaker being over yourself so others would misjudge you," she mused thoughtfully. "That way, should something unfortunate happen, you would have at least one surprise up your sleeve."

Shippou gave her a toothy grin. "That's right," he nodded. He smirked when he saw Inuyasha's vacant expression. "You didn't honestly think that Satori-sama would entrust a fifty-year-old _baby_ with a mission, did you?"

Inuyasha flushed as Shippou publicised his error. "Don't be stupid!" he huffed, crossing his arms and looking away determinedly. "No one is that dumb…except maybe you."

Shippou laughed and poked the hanyou in the arm. "You're such an immature brat, Inuyash—_OUCH_! Goddammit! What the hell was that one for?!" he shrieked as he nursed his third bump.

Inuyasha let out an imperious bark of laughter. "If I'm an immature brat, then you're a short and _stupid_ brat."

"Yes, yes, you're both brats," Myouga sighed, turning away from the two murderous youkai. "As for you, Shippou, I would assume that you are somewhere between one-hundred and one-hundred fifty years old."

Shippou relaxed slightly. "I'm one-hundred thirty-four."

"I'm two-hundred!" Inuyasha laughed triumphantly. "That means you have to respect both me and my powers!"

Shippou snorted. "What powers?" he muttered under his breath, ignoring Inuyasha's ominously waving fist.

Kikyou blinked. "You're only one-hundred thirty-four?" she asked Shippou. The fox demon nodded earnestly.

"Give or take ten years or so."

"Impressive," the miko mused. "Your powers are quite advanced, then."

Inuyasha gaped at her. "Excuse me?" he squawked, ignoring Shippou's smug look. "How is _he_ advanced?!"

"He was able to mask his demonic presence, if you remember. I couldn't sense him. And he was able to stifle the strength of his aura from you. It was a very good guise he went under," Kikyou complimented, allowing a rare smile to touch her lips.

Shippou grinned widely. "Thanks, Kikyou!" he sang.

Inuyasha scowled and crossed his arms. "At least I'm taller," he muttered childishly. "And I don't wear a ribbon in my hair."

Shippou pouted. "My mother made it for me," he mumbled, touching the smooth fabric gently with feminine fingers. "I think it's cute."

Kaede nodded energetically. "It is, Shippou-chan!" she giggled in approval. "I think it's great."

Myouga watched the interactions warily, feeling that his comrades were a little too casual and not considering the big picture. "Excuse me," he hopped into the center of the table, gaining everyone's attention. "But we really must not get distracted with things like hair ribbons…"

Inuyasha nodded sombrely. "Right." He turned to Shippou, fixing him with a serious look that unnerved the fox demon almost as much as his waving fist. "Shippou," he said. "Do you know what Satori wants with me?"

"I already said I don't know."

Myouga rubbed his round chin thoughtfully. "Did she mention if she wanted to meet Inuyasha-sama?"

Shippou shook his head. "She just wanted me to meet him, or something." He shrugged. "I guess she plans on meeting you sometime in the future, though."

Myouga felt a chill descend upon him. "Why's that?"

Shippou blinked. "Because that letter I delivered to Sesshoumaru was an invite for him to come up to her domain."

**xXx**

Jaken followed Sesshoumaru through the forest, a sinking feeling in his chest. Both he and the daiyoukai had departed for the Northern Island earlier in the morning – around dawn. It had been at least five hours since then, and the only thing Sesshoumaru had said was "Stop breathing so loudly. It's aggravating me."

Needless to say, the extensive silence was greatly unnerving the kappa.

Jaken adjusted his grip on the Nintoujou. It was approximately a five day walk to the Northern Island, not counting the flight across the ocean and the trek from the coast of the island to its demon stronghold, which would most likely take another five days.

Sesshoumaru had asked Jaken to find all the scrolls they had regarding the Northern Island. Jaken obliged, and the number of sources that gave any description of the Northern Island was baffling. Absolutely no scrolls came up. Sesshoumaru, in his own silent way of expressing displeasure, had Jaken and several other servants dig through the study a few more times; just to make sure that no scrolls had been overlooked as a result of his subordinates' idiocy. Yet, no matter how many times they peeled through the racks of scrolls and piles of paper, they could not find any reference to the Northern Island. It was astonishing. It was almost like its entire history – its entire _existence_ – had been erased.

Sesshoumaru had been livid.

Jaken felt a tiny bit of pity for the unfortunate humans that had tried robbing them earlier. Sesshoumaru must have been pretty wound up if something like four weak bandits caused the normally expressionless inu youkai to chuckle. Jaken shivered as he remembered the result of the clash. Of all the twisted techniques he'd seen Sesshoumaru use, he hadn't expected the daiyoukai to do something as sinister as the Chinese water torture with poison rather than water—and inside their gutted bellies and skulls, no less. Especially since cutting their legs and arms off seemed like overkill as it was.

He honestly could not see what had given Sesshoumaru the sudden desire to take off for the Northern Island. Sure, the invitation had seemed rather queer in its own light, especially since it had been marked with the seal of the Inu Youkai clan. But still, Jaken found the whole invitation to be rather fishy.

He was itching with curiosity, and was tremendously agitated by Sesshoumaru's lack of desire to share his inner thoughts. The daiyoukai had been behaving oddly ever since he had read – and reread – the message. Jaken was almost positive he'd seen the corners of his lord's lips quirk. He felt that he was justified in his dread.

**xXx**

The knowledge that Sesshoumaru had been formally invited to the Northern Island had proved to be of far greater distress to Myouga than anything else he had encountered in the past couple of centuries.

Inuyasha, being somewhat able to fathom Myouga's disturbance on the subject matter, allowed the flea to return to the West, albeit reluctantly.

Myouga had been in quite a hurry to depart; seeing as Sesshoumaru had been given a slight head start on his journey, Myouga had to increase his speed tenfold. (Meaning he had hitched a ride on several ignorant demons that had been traveling in a westward direction.)

Inuyasha was left behind with Shippou in Kikyou's village to await Myouga's return. Needless to say, he was not too ecstatic with the arrangements. Truthfully, he felt a bit like he was becoming too adjusted with the domestic setting. He had been there for a little over a week, and already people were beginning to accept him as part of the scenery – a notion that thoroughly disturbed Inuyasha.

Inuyasha had noticed right off the back that the villagers of Kikyou's village had been far more at ease with his presence than those of others. Shippou had noticed too, and seemed convinced that it was because the villagers were overconfident in the powers of their miko. And, though Inuyasha would admit (though never aloud) that Kikyou did have substantial spiritual energy for a human, he also admitted that there were many demons that would have little to no difficulty squashing her.

He wished that humans didn't always possess such inflated egos. It was rather pathetic.

(_"Stupid Inuyasha! You have an inflated ego, too—OUCH!"_)

The matter of the (newly dubbed) "Dry Well" still had yet to be sorted out. The whole situation was greatly concerning Kikyou, and she had made it a high priority to perform purification rites by the well multiple times a day. Inuyasha had scoffed and thought her efforts to be foolish. Shippou had chosen to remain neutral in the situation, feeling that something about the well was not quite right.

Kikyou stared pensively down into the well, her brow furrowed in concentration. "I just don't understand it," she muttered, clenching her hand into a fist. "How could all the water have vanished so suddenly? And after a thunderstorm, no less…"

Inuyasha stood awkwardly on the rim of the well, straining his eyes as he tried to look for any signs of cracks in the earth. "I still don't get why you're all so worked up over it. It's just some stupid well."

Kikyou glanced up at Inuyasha. "Don't be ignorant," she snipped. "It's not the loss of water that's upsetting me. It's the manner in which it all vanished. It's rather uncanny, don't you think?"

Inuyasha shrugged. "I honestly could care less. You've even said that it's happened before."

Kaede, who Kikyou now refused to let anywhere within ten feet of the well, frowned at him. "That's not the point."

"Would it make you feel better if there was a demonic reason behind it?" Inuyasha asked sharply, eyes flashing.

Kaede looked stricken. "What?"

"I don't know about you two, but I'd feel a hell of a lot better if this was just some freak of nature, and not something related to demons or ghosts or whatever."

Kikyou scowled unpleasantly. "So would I," she said flatly. "However, we cannot simply assume that—"

"Oh, shut up."

Inuyasha hopped off the side of the well, landing smoothly on the ground. "You guys all think too much," he said flatly. "Just believe what you want. Having all these weird suspicions is just going to make you all stressed out, and it'll probably increase the chance of some situation like that happen."

Kikyou's lips pressed together in a thin line. "That may be, but I'd rather be cautious than sitting around and waiting for the inevitable to happen," she said stiffly as she rose to her feet.

"Keh," Inuyasha scoffed, crossing his arms. "If it's inevitable, it's gonna happen anyway."

Kikyou stiffened, but the hanyou chose to ignore it in favour of turning to head back to the village. "I'm heading back," he said. "Shippou was right to hang back. These rituals of you humans are all so pointless."

The miko narrowed her eyes and said nothing, her fisted hands shaking in silent fury as she glared into the well.

Inuyasha seemed unperturbed by the wrath radiating from Kikyou and began trekking back to the village, waving a hand at her indolently. "Anyway, you guys should be more concerned with trying to make peace with the demons more than destroy them… I mean, they can technically annihilate you humans, can't they? Maybe your existence in this world is simply to be destroyed." Inuyasha turned and sneered slightly at her. "Maybe there'll be a day when humans are just part of old myths and legends, and youkai will be telling their children about how valiantly they fought, only to be _destroyed_."

Kikyou spun around, eyes blazing. "There will _never_ be a time when that will happen," she hissed. "If anyone is to die out, it will be you. You and your kind. Demons are incapable of anything but death and destruction. There is no miracle of life among you."

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow impassively. "You may be saying that now, but what about in the future?" he drawled. "Like…what about when I purify the Shikon Jewel and become the most powerful demon of them all?" he snarled maliciously, eyes glittering.

Kikyou's hand twitched as the desire to shoot the damned hanyou through his thick skull and into a tree intensified. "That day will never come," she said confidently. "The Jewel has been protected by my people for generations. There is no way that fate would betray our years of servitude with such cruelty."

Inuyasha let out a sardonic bark of laughter. "'Servitude'?" he jeered. "Don't fuck around with me. Your ancestor _willingly_ took on the job of her own volition. There was no underhand blackmail. My mother was a lowly human, just like you. There's no way she could have defeated a miko."

There was truth to that, and Kikyou could not deny it. She wilted, knowing she'd been defeated. Still, she clung to her stung pride and turned back to gaze into the dark depths of the Dry Well, gritting her teeth in anger. "I will never lower myself to being subjugated by a demon."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes and stormed off. "Screw you, wench!" he snapped in a very mature way. "Either way, the end will come to one of our races, whether you like it or not. And, if you ask me, the world is pulling in favour of the youkai!" He glared angrily at the back of the miko before turning to Kaede. "C'mon, brat. Let's leave your wench of a sister alone." And the two left.

Kikyou clenched her eyes tightly, her fingernails digging into the palms of her fisted hands. She took deep, even breaths in an attempt to calm herself as he splashed more holy water down into the empty well. However, instead of hearing the water slap against the ground, breaking the silence, a high-pitched shriek broke through the air, echoing upward from the bottom of the well.

Kikyou nearly dropped her bucket of water at the sound of the shriek. She quickly set the bucket on the ground and leaned over the edge of the well, squinting her eyes as she fought to discern what was on the bottom. "Hello?" she called. "Hello? Is somebody down there?" It was only after the words had left her mouth that she mentally kicked herself. The well had been void of inhabitants for the past hour—she'd been there herself! She would have noticed!—so it seemed peculiar that something would only be crying out in discomfort now.

She quickly tossed some more water in, if just to encourage another cry, and, sure enough, another sound was made. However, unlike the first din, this one was far more clear and horribly coherent. "Stop splashing me, bitch!"

Kikyou dropped the bucket.

**xXx**

Jaken was very unhappy. More so than usual, and that was saying quite a bit. He did not like the Northern Island at all—it was much too cold for his liking. All the snow and the menacing shadows and the howling wolf clans… It was simply too much for him to handle. He wanted to cry out in misery, he really did, but at the same time, he knew that would only serve to further incite his lord's wrath, and Sesshoumaru was already incensed as it was. (Or, in Myouga's words, he was just plain pissed.)

They had been travelling deeper and deeper into the dead, snow-capped forest for over an hour, and Sesshoumaru had yet to say a word. They had come across a plethora of demons—mostly wolf—but had made no attempt at contact. Rather, Sesshoumaru would just glance at them, and they would glance back, and then they would leave. It was all very confusing. Far too confusing for Jaken, in any case, and all the silence was killing him.

After another hour, the forest began giving away to menacing, black mountains. And Jaken was finally prepared to start screaming in frustration when Sesshoumaru did something quite unexpected. He halted in his steps and told Jaken not to move.

Jaken immediately complied. After being Sesshoumaru-sama's servant for so many years, he'd gathered that his lord was one of few words, but when he did, in fact, say something, then there was good reason for it. And, knowing this, Jaken obeyed Sesshoumaru and froze.

A relatively young inu youkai stood before them, golden eyes watching them unblinkingly and with intrigue from beneath silver bangs. It appeared as though he had been standing there for a while, as a layer of powdery snow had collected on top of his silvery head and into the scratched cauldron of his armour. He cocked his head in childish interest at them, snow falling from his head with the movement.

Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed, clearly unsure of how to approach the child. He was young, that much was certain—he couldn't have been more than one hundred fifty years old. "Pup," Sesshoumaru said at last, gazing down at the small demon, "I am Sesshoumaru, Lord of the West."

The child merely blinked and continued to stare at him blankly, his eyelids flickered slightly. Perhaps a sign of acknowledgement? Finally, he raised a daintily clawed hand up to his face and scratched idly at one of the blood-red markings curling across his cheeks. "I know," he said shortly, voice soft and almost inaudible.

Sesshoumaru felt himself twitch inwardly. What kind of a response was that? 'I know'? And to _scratch_ himself in the presence of an elder?! What an impudent brat.

"I was summoned here by Satori-sama," he said, watching the young demon for a reaction, seeing none, he continued. "She has requested a council with me and requested that I come to meet with her in her domain."

The child gave him another blank look. "I know," he said dryly, his hand this time opting to tug on some of the many loose strands of hair that were slipping from his low ponytail. Sesshoumaru could feel his patience becoming very thin, very _quickly_.

"I was told that the matters of our meeting were of great importance."

The child dropped his hand and a large Cheshire grin spread across his face. "I _know_," he said cheekily, his pearly white fangs gleaming obnoxiously at Sesshoumaru.

"Can you say anything besides 'I know'?" Sesshoumaru snapped testily, using all his self-restraint to keep himself from ripping out the child's throat.

Chuckling softly now, the young youkai nodded heartily. "Yes," he said brightly. "And I think you're an asshole." He punctuated this by blowing an obstinately loud raspberry.

Jaken was seriously beginning to fear for the child's life. He'd never seen Sesshoumaru grin like this.

In any case, the boy seemed to get an idea of Sesshoumaru's bloodlust, and wisely stopped poking fun. "It's over there," he said, pointing lazily at the dip where two mountains met. "The village is surrounded by a wall and will be heavily guarded, so just try not to get killed," he added with a sly grin. "Unless you state your name and purpose quickly—not unlike you did here—" he snickered, "the first shield will not hesitate to attack."

Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow. "You will not guide us?"

The boy laughed hysterically, much to Sesshoumaru's chagrin. "Hell no!" he roared. "One of the guys in the first shield keeps on trying to molest me. There's no way I'm going with you. That guy would probably find you pretty or something… Then they'd probably try to gang-rape us or something."

Jaken could feel his jaw dropping. _'Gang-rape?! What kind of a place is this?!'_

Sesshoumaru gave the boy a deprecating look. "Surely you are being fresh," he said. "Such an act is unbecoming and simply not practiced in the mainland."

The boy's eyes glittered as he rubbed his nose insolently. "You and your friend are a long way from the mainland," he stated smugly. "This is the Northern Island, you see, and we do things _our_ way."

"And what is 'your' way?" Sesshoumaru asked, perhaps more patiently than intended.

"My way is of no importance," the boy replied simply. "It is _my_ way, as you said, and therefore, _your_ way is the only one of consequence."

"Then what is 'my' way?" Sesshoumaru asked through gritted teeth.

The child gave him an obvious look. "Through the goddamn front door, you dumbass." And with that, he vanished, leaving Jaken very confused and Sesshoumaru very, very angry.

**xXx**

Jaken had to admit, they'd made it to the joint between the two peaks in amazing time. (Most likely, Sesshoumaru-sama's rage had given him the extra strength, Jaken decided.)

Just as the loathsome pup had said, there was a towering wall and gate protecting the village. However, the guards he had mentioned were conspicuously absent.

Sesshoumaru glanced around, trying to get a feel of the environment. There was indeed a dense population behind the wall, not only of various species of demons, but of humans and animals as well. He couldn't help but wonder at what kind of daiyoukai Satori was, to let filthy humans coexist with the superior demons.

He strode forward towards the gate, Jaken trailing behind him, squawking, as usual. Sesshoumaru stared up at the top of the gate. Its edge was coated with layer upon layer of embedded shards of glass and iron spears. The wall, he decided, was a formidable opponent to humans and to demons with low agility and mobility. For him, jumping it would be nothing. And so, he crouched and launched himself at the gate, ignoring the forgotten Jaken.

He landed smoothly on the gate in the area where projectiles were normally launched in defensive movements, only to be promptly kicked off.

Sesshoumaru quickly caught himself in his fall and landed back on the ground beside Jaken in a controlled crouch.

"Se-Se-Sesshoumaru-sama!" Jaken wailed, hopping about and pointing around them, tears streaming from his eyes. "What are we going to doooo?"

Sesshoumaru looked up, saw what had Jaken so rattled, and sighed in annoyance. The pair had been ambushed and surrounded by seven guards, each clutching impressive weapons and each one looking incredibly menacing in their own sense—except for one, who was clad in a pink yukata. He seemed far more frail than the others, so Sesshoumaru chose to attack him in an attempt to break the circle. However, to his surprise, the tendril of the poison whip he'd shot out was merely danced around and repelled.

The young guard giggled in an entirely unbecoming and horrifically female manner. "Ooh," he cooed, twirling his sword expertly, his dark eyes never leaving Sesshoumaru. "I _like_ this one."

One of the guards behind Jaken let out an aggravated groan. "Jakotsu!" he barked at the guard in pink, "We are not going through this again!"

Jakotsu pouted. "Aw… But, Bankotsu no oo-aniki," he whined, "look at him! He's gorgeous!"

Sesshoumaru barely repressed his grimace. As the guards Jakotsu and Bankotsu bickered, he took the time to observe his collective foe. The seven guards all varied tremendously in size, appearance, and stance. And for them to have not only evaded his attack, but to have laid a hit on him, they were clearly skilled warriors. Sesshoumaru sniffed the air, curious to get a feel on what kind of demon he was toiling with—only to get the shock of his life. The guards were all _human_.

Granted, they smelled a little different, but _still_… The prospect of being beaten by lowly humans was simply mortifying. There was no way he could let that happen.

Sesshoumaru spun around released an unexpected attack on Bankotsu, shooting forwards, claws dripping poison, only to be me intercepted by Jankotsu and the other five each pointing their respective weapons at him, each in a position to throw him into the afterlife.

Jankotsu gave him an infuriated look, his blade precariously grazing Sesshoumaru's neck. "Do not threaten Bankotsu no oo-aniki. _Ever_!" he snarled, pupils slightly dilated in vehemence. "That is one thing you _never_ should do. Especially not in front of _me_."

Bankotsu strode forward and laid a hand comfortably on Jakotsu's shoulder. "That's enough, Jakotsu," he said softly, the admiration barely concealed in his voice. He turned his dark eyes towards the quivering Jaken before finally settling his gaze on Sesshoumaru. "We are the Shichinintai," he said proudly, gesticulating toward the guards. "We are the first shield of the Northern Fortress, and we do not take kindly to strangers. What is your name and purpose, youkai?" he demanded.

Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes. "I was requested a council with Satori-sama," he replied curtly. "I am Sesshoumaru, the Lord of the West."

Bankotsu blinked, understanding reflected in them. He nodded to his comrades, and the seven guards lowered their weapons; Jakotsu did so as well, albeit reluctantly. Bankotsu tilted his head back and shouted out to an unseen person. "He's clear! Open the gate!"

There was a loud crashing sound and the hissing noise of steam, and the gate flew open. The Shichinintai slowly filed in, all of them with the exception of Bankotsu climbed a great set of stairs built into the wall and settled comfortably into strategically placed crevices, each with a clean view of the landscape outside of the village. Sesshoumaru's eyes widened in understanding. They had seen him coming long before he had arrived.

"Sesshoumaru-sama," Bankotsu said, "if you'll be so kind as to follow me, I will take you to see Satori-sama."

Sesshoumaru nodded and followed the young human, Jaken simpering behind them as they travelled deep into the village.

The village was really quite something to behold, though it had all the typical elements of a society, it was one merged with both humans and demons. It was also quite bizarre for Sesshoumaru to see such a population of inu youkai, especially to see them conversing quite animatedly with humans. The other thing about the village was that there was an alarmingly large number of warriors and soldier-like figures roaming about. The amount of armour and weapon related artisans was also quite high, their shops littering the vast majority of the tight dirt roads and markets.

Bankotsu led them to something of a large, sophisticated domain carved into the side of one of the mountains. He glanced over at Jaken and Sesshoumaru. "This is Satori-sama's fortress," he told them as they headed toward the threshold of the door.

The young inu youkai from the woods was standing at the door, again with a dusting of snow adorning his head. When he saw Sesshoumaru, his mouth split into a wide grin. "I see you made it here in one piece," he observed.

Bankotsu groaned. "Don't tell me you were the one Satori-sama sent out to escort Sesshoumaru-sama, Yuudai…"

The boy merely smiled.

"You impudent brat!" Jaken exploded. "You didn't escort us at all!"

Yuudai snickered at the kappa. "The Lady of the North was mum as to how I should lead you here."

Bankotsu rolled his eyes. "You're such a brat," he muttered. "Can I trust you to take them—meaning actually go_ with_ them—to Satori-sama?"

Yuudai waved him off languidly. "Sure, sure. Geez. What do you take me for, some kind of hooligan?"

Jaken let out a roar of agreement.

Yuudai pouted at Jaken but relented, giving a thoughtful tug on a lock of his hair. "It's this way," he said, making an amazing breach of demon ethics and grabbing Sesshoumaru's hand to lead him inside.

Jaken nearly fainted on the spot. What a stupid boy.

The young demon was certainly an odd one, Sesshoumaru decided as he observed the happily skipping boy with something akin to intrigued disgust. "Are you the child of Satori-sama?" Sesshoumaru asked slowly, hoping it wasn't so.

The boy seemed to think the same. "God, no!" he groaned, feigning a gag as he dragged Sesshoumaru down an ornate hallway. "I think I'd kill myself if I was the spawn of that witch."

Sesshoumaru frowned. What a strange child. He hoped that the new generation of inu youkai wasn't all so loathsome.

"Here we go," Yuudai said at last, skidding to a halt and grinding his heels into the ground. He nodded with his head toward a fragile-looking door. "She'll meet with you in here."

Sesshoumaru nodded and wrenched his hand away from the child. "Very good," he said flatly. He slid the door open and strode in.

A low table was set up in the room and a cup of hot tea was steaming at his presumed place at the small table. He slowly sat down at the table, Jaken settled behind him, and stared at the woman before him. An elegantly dressed inu daiyoukai with rigid posture was seated in the seat across from him, her molten golden eyes carefully observing him over the rim of her cup.

"I take it you are Satori-sama?" Sesshoumaru asked quietly, picking up his own cup and sipping his tea, his eyes quickly taking in the blue crescent moon on her forehead.

The woman lowered the cup from her lips and smiled, her rose-coloured lips curling upward into a secretive, close-mouthed smile. "I take it you are Sesshoumaru-sama?" she returned, setting her cup down and tugging lightly on one of her silver ponytails. (Jaken, from his place behind Sesshoumaru, could see Yuudai seated behind the woman, and immediately understood where the boy had gained his habit.)

Yuudai sniggered from behind the female youkai. "That he is, Satori-baasama."

It took every ounce of self-control to keep Jaken from crying out in confusion. _'What kind of underling addresses his mistress as such?!'_

Satori didn't seem bothered, and neither did Sesshoumaru, though he was a bit more nonplussed than anything else.

Satori smile widely at Sesshoumaru and clasped her hands together. "Sesshoumaru-sama," she said pleasantly, "are you confused, yet?"

Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes slightly. "Not particularly," he mumbled into his cup. "More annoyed than anything else that there was an inu youkai settlement up here that I was not aware of," he added as an afterthought.

Satori nodded cheerfully. "I assumed as much," she admitted, snapping a fan out from her sleeve and hiding her mouth from view. "Do you know who I am?" she asked slowly, eyes probing.

Sesshoumaru placed his cup down on the table and refilled both his and Satori's. "You are clearly an inu daiyoukai, which therefore you must be a direct descendent of the nobility, as we have very strict family practices. You would not be in such large possession of a territory such as the Northern Island, nor would you be able to keep your civilisation under such secrecy unless you had met an accord with my father, Inu no Taishou." He paused, searching her eyes for a reaction. Finding none, he continued. "And it is a well-known fact that my father is wonderful at manipulation, so in order for you to have convinced him to keep your existence a secret, it is only logical that you would either have some form of blackmail, or that you were an even greater manipulator than him. In this scenario, having met you, I'm leaning toward the latter."

Satori laughed softly, folding her fan up. "Sesshoumaru-sama," she chuckled, "your father was not lying when he said that you spent far too much time thinking!" She poked him in the forehead with her fan, eliciting a petrified shriek from Jaken and a snicker from Yuudai.

Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes. "So, you do know my father."

She rolled her eyes in a very uncouth manner. "I'm afraid so," she groaned. "Sesshoumaru-sama, I'm your father's little sister!"

Jaken fainted on the spot. Sesshoumaru said nothing.

"Are you surprised?" Satori asked playfully.

Sesshoumaru's eyes lifted upward, gazing thoughtfully at the ceiling. "Not particularly," he said at last. He returned his gaze to his aunt. "It is not unlike my father to keep things like this a secret," he muttered sourly. "Especially when he has something to be gained."

"'Gained'?" Satori echoed, thin brows knitting together in thought. "Oh!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands together. "Of course, that is so typical of Touga-niisama," she remarked with a laugh. She leaned forward, grinning widely at her nephew. "This is about his other son—your brother…Inuyasha-sama, isn't it?"

Sesshoumaru stiffened. "What do you know of him?" he asked sharply.

Another close-mouthed smile played on Satori's lips as she leaned backwards slightly. "Tell me, Sesshoumaru-sama," she said, taking a languid sip of her tea. "What do you know of the Shikon Jewel?"

**xXx**

Rant:

Haha! I bet you guys were starting to get worried, eh? XD

I actually was getting pretty concerned with the life of this fic. See, I had some computer problems back in the day, and me being the procrastinator I am, I waited for a disgustingly long time before doing anything to fix them. _Then_, in July, my AC adapter went and blew up on me. (_I got burned in the process, which sucked._) So, then I had to wait until I got back from Africa before I could do anything about _that_. And, of course, me being the procrastinator I am, I waited another two months before getting a new cord. XD Then I spent a good week drowning myself in the Inuyasha OSTs before hunkering down to finish this chapter. :D I must say, I'm surprised I actually did it._::celebrates::_

Dude, this is pretty sick for me, though. This is the first fic I've written to ever reach its third chapter!! 8D I'm so psyched; you guys have _no_ idea how cool this is for me.

Sorry for the long wait, guys. D: Take this as my peace offering?


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